Dawson inspired by Reading reverse

Michael Dawson believes Tottenham will use the painful memory of their Madejski Stadium misery as inspiration against Reading.

Spurs took the lead when they travelled to Berkshire in November but were defeated 3-1, a result that left furious boss Martin Jol calling for mental and physical toughness from his squad.

Jol’s men then went on an impressive run before Christmas and, after another slump, have won their last four Barclays Premiership games to put them in the hunt for a top-six finish.

Reading are also in the shake-up to finish in the European places but Sunday’s clash at White Hart Lane gives Spurs a chance to push them towards mid-table.

Dawson, who backed away for Nicky Shorey’s equaliser at the Madejski Stadium, said: “You tend to remember the defeats and it shouldn’t be like that.

“You should put those games out of your mind but when you step on to the pitch, you want to do as well as you can and when that doesn’t happen, you go over things a lot more than when things go well.

“When we went to Reading it ended up a disappointing performance and this is now a massive game for us because we can go four points clear of them if we manage to win.”

Winger Aaron Lennon feels the defeat was a wake-up call for Spurs, who only just missed out on the Champions League places last season.

The 19-year-old said: “We were going from bad to worse, it wasn’t a good part of the season.

“The manager wasn’t happy with us, we needed to beat the teams around us and Reading have done well this season. That game we didn’t play as well as we should have.

“But they’ve surprised everybody. No-one expected to them to be where they are but obviously we should be looking to beat teams like Reading.”

By just missing out on fourth place last May, the feeling among Jol’s staff at White Hart Lane is that they have become victims of their own success.

Dawson, 23, explained: “Last season we raised expectations and to only just lose out on fourth place was a great achievement.

“We’ve played a lot of games this season and it’s not been easy but now we’re pushing closer to fifth and it’s getting close. It’s up to us to finish in that top six to try to qualify for Europe again via the league.”

Even if Reading miss out on UEFA Cup qualification, Steve Coppell’s men have still impressed in their first season in the Premiership.

They were tipped for relegation at the start of the campaign but players such as Kevin Doyle and Steve Sidwell establishing themselves means teams such as Spurs have been given competition to finish in the places just outside the top four.

Full-back Young-Pyo Lee said: “Every player really battles for the team and it will not be easy for us. They have a strong motivation, a good manager but most importantly a strong organisation within the team. That is their strength.”

Midfielder Jermaine Jenas, who has scored five goals in eight games since returning from a fractured ankle, added on official website tottenhamhotspur.com: “Not only have they come into the league and got points on the board, but they’ve done it in a good manner.”

He added: “”We’ve had four league wins in a row now and the run has put us in a good position. Things have been going great, now we’ve just got to maintain it.“