Jermaine Jenas: Why Tottenham won’t see West Ham as a challenge

Jermaine Jenas has explained why Tottenham Hotspur don’t view West Ham United as one of their big London derbies.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side make the trip to Upton Park on Wednesday night fresh from a 2-1 victory over Swansea City at the weekend.

The biggest derbies remained Arsenal, followed by Chelsea, and I don’t think it’s any different now

Jermaine Jenas

Spurs are in second place in the Premier League table and two points behind leaders Leicester City with 11 games remaining.

Tottenham are unbeaten against the east London side under Pochettino and Spurs haven’t lost to the Hammers since May 2014.

Writing in his Yahoo Sport column, former Spurs midfielder Jenas explained why their derby against West Ham doesn’t fall in the same bracket as games against Arsenal and Chelsea.

“I even remember having conversations trying to work out what the West Ham thing was all about,” Jenas wrote.

“Granted, they were close geographically, but so were Charlton, for example. I didn’t get the hatred they were trying to create, which I didn’t feel ever materialised from Tottenham’s end. The biggest derbies remained Arsenal, followed by Chelsea, and I don’t think it’s any different now.

“The progress West Ham have made over the past few seasons has been exceptional and it will be a vociferous atmosphere at Upton Park, but it’s nice to feel that fierce environment as a player because it tunes you in.

“Not all the Spurs squad would have played in this fixture before, but there are enough homegrown players to let them know what to expect.”

Tottenham were 2-1 winners against Swansea on Sunday after Nacer Chadli and Danny Rose cancelled scored second-half goals.

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Spurs travel to the Hammers on Wednesday night before Tottenham take on Arsenal in Saturday’s north London derby.