NO EUROPE? NO PROBLEM

Kulusevski insists the lack of European football has helped drive Spurs to the top of the table

- NEIL MCLEMAN

DEJAN KULUSEVSKI claims the lack of European football has fuelled Tottenham's surge to the top of the table.

Ange Postecoglou's men returned to the summit by beating Fulham on Monday night to give the Aussie boss the best start to a Premier League campaign for a new coach.

And Spurs can go five points clear by beating Crystal Palace on Friday in a week where all the other teams in the top nine are playing in Europe.

Spurs finished eighth under Antonio Conte last season to miss out on Europe for the first time since 2008-2009.

But Sweden winger Kulusevski claimed there was a silver lining to staying at home this week which is giving them an advantage over their title rivals.

"It helps a lot, honestly, it helps a lot," said the former Juventus star. "Physically, I remember last season was very hard playing three games a week.