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 Tottenham continue their push to finish fourth at Aston Villa on Saturday.

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Villa Park has long been a happy hunting ground for Tottenham, who have not lost at the Midlands ground since 2008 and claimed a 2-1 win over their opponents in the reverse fixture.


Both Arsenal and Manchester United are in action before Antonio Conte’s team this weekend, against Brighton and Everton respectively, meaning Tottenham will at least know their standing for fourth place before kick-off.


Steven Gerrard’s Villa have fallen to three defeats in a row in recent weeks and sit 11th going into this round of matches.


Football is littered with second chance stories - those players who seemed destined for the exit door when suddenly everything changed.


Whatever social media tries to tell us, there aren't bad footballers playing in the Premier League. You don't reach that level and overcome all of the challenges and scrutiny of coaches galore along the way by being a bad footballer. There are other mental aspects that do play a part, whether it's a lack of desire to improve, how they treat their bodies outside of the training centre, the suitability to a new league or country and the mental strength required to play at the very top.


Often though, when things don't go the right way for a player it can be simply down to circumstance, whether that's an injury, a change in tactics or a new manager who simply does not see them in their plans. Sometimes the latter two instances can work in a positive way, if mixed with the right attitude from the player.


READ MORE: Tottenham predicted team vs Aston Villa: Antonio Conte makes surprise decision as players return


Tottenham Hotspur have plenty of stories of those who have turned their careers at the club around - Moussa Sissoko transformed from a scapegoat set to depart to a key player for a couple of seasons - and a few players to fix their Spurs time have been among the biggest names.


Take three of Tottenham's brightest attacking lights in recent years - Gareth Bale, Son Heung-min and Harry Kane. All three needed changes to their situations and in some cases themselves to become the stars they have.


Bale was on the verge of being loaned out of the club, with that infamous long stretch without a win to his name. In the end it was an injury to left-back Benoit Assou-Ekotto which got him back in the team and the rest is history.


Son wanted to leave Spurs after his first season in and out of the starting line-up. It took a summer meeting with boss Mauricio Pochettino to get him to change his mind, remain focused on the fight and now the South Korean star is one the best attackers in the Premier League.

For Kane, he was a young player with more loans than appearances for Tottenham. While he started to get a chance under Tim Sherwood it was Pochettino who changed everything about the striker's fitness and preparation, tapping into his desire to improve and that's when today's Kane was born.

While Matt Doherty will readily admit he's not a superstar like those three players have become since, it's a similar drive that has turned the defender's career around in north London.

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