Mauricio Pochettino: 'Difficult' Upton Park pitch can affect Tottenham more than West Ham

Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino fears the 'difficult' Upton Park pitch will affect his side during tomorrow night's Premier League fixture against West Ham.

Spurs travel to east London aiming to secure their seventh consecutive top-flight victory, having emerged as title contenders in recent weeks.

Slaven Bilic's are unbeaten on home turf since last August's surprise defeat to newly-promoted Bournemouth and currently occupy fifth place in the table.

The London derby could prove to be a decisive moment in either side's season and Pochettino is concerned about the state of the pitch ahead of what is expected to be Tottenham's last ever game at Upton Park.

"Our supporters know and the teams knows that it means a little bit more than only three points.

"The conditions will be difficult because the pitch is not so good, and the way we play, maybe it can affect us more than them," he explained.

However, the Argentine coach has urged his players to cope with the lacklustre playing surface as they attempt to cut Leicester's lead at the top of the table.

“We need to be strong. If we want to achieve big things we need to go tomorrow and try to show that we are better, and the conditions are not important.

"We have players that are very strong, that have a very strong mentality and they are excited to play, not only in the derbies but every game."

Spurs have not tasted defeat on the road since the opening day of the season and victory against the Hammers would represent ideal preparation for this weekend's north London derby.