David Howells feels Tottenham can stay up but urges Steve Perryman rallying call

Former Tottenham midfielder David Howells believes his old team can stay in the Premier League – but would send club great Steve Perryman into the dressing room to issue a rallying cry.

Spurs slipped towards a first relegation in 49 years after Sunday’s 3-0 home defeat to Nottingham Forest left them 17th and only one point above the bottom three.

Howells was involved in Tottenham’s last two battles to stay in the top flight during the 1990s and, after key personnel stepped up on both occasions, the 58-year-old hopes history can repeat itself with players due to return in April.

“It was a tough (1993-94) season injury-wise and a struggle to pick up enough points to be safe, but a bit like maybe what is going to happen now, people did start to drift back,” Howells told the Press Association.

“Teddy (Sheringham) was a massive player and Darren Anderton also, so to see them sitting with you again was important.

“That (1997-98 season) was more of the players getting together and saying, ‘Not this club, not with these players, it can’t happen’.

“It can only come from the players. We will scream our heads off in the stadium, but it has to come from them.

“To not have Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison in the changing room all season has been a massive reason for where we are, but I do think Tottenham have the characters to stay up.

“I don’t know if those two will play again this season, hopefully they do, but looking around the rest of the group, I think there is enough character, talent and hopefully belief to do it.”

During the 1993-94 campaign, Tottenham lost seven league games in a row under Ossie Ardiles, but fit-again duo Anderton and Sheringham lifted the group before Howells scored in a 2-0 win at Oldham on May 5 to clinch safety.

It was a similar story four years later when Jurgen Klinsmann starred in the final weeks to help Spurs avoid an historic relegation, but a bottom-three finish is now a realistic possibility given this current injury-hit group have failed to win in 13 league fixtures.

Howells recalled the inspirational words in 1994 of then-assistant Perryman, part of the last Tottenham team relegated in 1977 but a six-time trophy winner across 854 appearances for the north London club.

“I do remember Steve Perryman being brilliant around that time,” Howells said.

“He said despite all the success he had as a player and the trophies that he won, one of the things that stayed with him was the shame and embarrassment of getting relegated with Tottenham Hotspur.

“If I could get Steve Perryman in that current dressing room today, I would put him there now and have that chat with the guys.

“I’m not saying there are any players not trying, but I think sometimes you hear a difference voice and especially a voice like Steve Perryman, legend of the club saying stuff like that… when we listened to Stevie talking like that, it resonated with us.”

Howells is now behind growing social-media platform wearepeek.com, which allows current and retired footballers to share their views with fans in a user-friendly environment.

“Peek’s almost like being in a WhatsApp group with with your idols,” Howells said. “You basically pick a squad of people to follow, follow seven people on there and you get all their (behind-the-scenes) content.”