Talk » whatever it takes.Thats Aldridges mentality, t

Jan Vertonghen could return to Tottenhams defence as they host Manchester United on Super Sunday. The defender, who has been out for three months, may take his place alongside Toby Alderweireld as they look to get their title bid back on track.Tottenham dropped points at Liverpool last week, and will need a win at White Hart Lane on Super Sunday from 12.30pm on Sky Sports 1 HD to keep the pressure up on Leicester. United, meanwhile, head into the weekend with their top-four hopes very much alive following impressive back-to-back wins over Manchester City and Everton. Harry Kane and Matteo Darmian compete for the ball during match at Old Trafford Team newsVertonghen is fit again and could start if boss Mauricio Pochettino selects the Belgian over the in-form Kevin Wimmer.Clinton Njie has also recovered from a knee problem and has returned to full training while Erik Lamela is back after shaking off a knock. Nabil Bentaleb (knee), however, is out.Wayne Rooney will not be ready to return for Manchester United despite returning to training. The 30-year-old will step up his rehabilitation from a knee injury by playing for Uniteds Under-21s on Monday and is joined on the sidelines this weekend by Adnan Januzaj.Bastian Schweinsteiger (knee), Luke Shaw (leg) and Will Keane (groin) are others absent at White Hart Lane, where Ashley Young and Phil Jones could get their first minutes since returning from injury Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino will be hoping for a big win Opta statsManchester United have now won back-to-back Premier League games against Spurs, after a five game winless run (D3 L2). They last won three in a row against them in 2010 (a run of four).Mauricio Pochettinos Spurs are yet to score against Manchester United in three meetings.Manchester United havent lost any of the last 14 Premier League games against Spurs at White Hart Lane, but have drawn six of the last eight (W8 D6).Tottenhams last home win over Manchester United in the league came on the final day of the 2000/01 season when Glenn Hoddle was managing them. Louis van Gaals top-four hopes are very much alive Harry Kane has netted a league-high 22 goals this season in the top-flight, more than any other Tottenham player has ever managed in a single Premier League campaign.French striker Anthony Martial has netted three goals in his last four appearances for United in all competitions, while he is now their top scorer in the Premier League this season with eight goals.Manchester United have bagged just 39 goals in their 31 league games this season; they last netted fewer at this stage of a top-flight campaign in 1989/90 (37).Since making his Premier League debut in September 2013, Christian Eriksen has created 250 goal-scoring chances for team-mates, a haul only Mesut Ozil (266) can better in that timeframe. Anthony Martial has netted three goals in his last four appearances for United in all competitions Mersons predictionsBoth teams have got to win this. Its getting to that part of the season where its good because draws are no good to anybody, but I dont see anything other than a Tottenham win.Tottenham are a very good team and I expect them to keep the pressure on Leicester. They did very well when they had to play catch up with Bournemouth and beat them quite convincingly. If Leicester dont win then its a bonus.If Leicester do win, I think that will be it. Even if Tottenham also pick up three points, theyd still be seven points behind with five games to go, so for me, this weekend is the big weekend.PAUL PREDICTS: 3-1 (Sky Bet odds 14/1)BettingTottenham are 10/11 favourites with Sky Bet to maintain their title challenge with all three points against Manchester United (16/5). Spurs remain 11/2 second favourites to win the title while United are 13/8 to grab a top four finish. Four of the last six meetings between the two have ended in draws and its 12/5 for that trend to continue. Two of the last three have finished in score draws and a draw with both teams scoring is available at 7/2. All the Sky sports pundits are unanimous in their support of the hosts and have all tipped up a 2-1 win with Harry Kane netting the opener at odds of 20/1.Sky Sports Fantasy Six-a-SideTottenham v Manchester United is this weekends Sky Sports Fantasy Six-a-Side fixture, with £10,000 to be won again by the top-scoring team.All you have to do is select six players, including one Elite Player, along with a Power Play period and a golden goal to be in with the chance of winning the jackpot. Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Marcus Rashford and Daley Blind are this weekends Elite Players.Pick your Sky Sports Fantasy Six-a-Side team here. Custom Detroit Red Wings Jerseys . The defending champion beat Gael Monfils of France 7-6 (6), 6-3, while second-seeded Andy Murray of Britain dispatched Edouard Roger-Vasselin, also of France, 6-3, 6-3. 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I cant pinpoint a date, but I do remember a player from my youth. Brian Downing was with the Chicago White Sox at a time when I listened to every game I possibly could on the radio. That particular season the late great Harry Caray was calling the White Sox games. SAN ANTONIO -- One 3-pointer careened off the side of the rim. Another missed its destination totally, crashing to the wood at the San Antonio Spurs practice facility with the tenacity of a medicine ball.Spurs power forward LaMarcus Aldridge understands the team wants him to incorporate more 3-point shooting into the arsenal for 2016-17, but these latest hiccups at practice seem like utopia compared to his early experience last season as the most coveted free-agent acquisition of 2015 joining a squad already chockful of established stars in Tim Duncan, Kawhi Leonard, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.Sixty-seven games, Aldridge said, letting out a laugh.Thats how long it took for Aldridge last season to find even the slightest hint of a comfort zone.I dont know that he struggled, Spurs general manager R.C. Buford said. I would guess there are very few mid-career changes where you walk in and its an instantaneous transition; especially in a group that had played together for a long time. I dont know that any of us felt like he struggled to begin with. It took time for us to understand how he fits best, and for him to learn how to best impact our club. I think he was very respectful of the group that was here. He had no intention of coming in and impacting our group in a way the team wasnt comfortable with.Deference no longer stands in Aldridges way, as he and Leonard now take the mantle of ushering the Spurs into their latest evolution sans-Duncan. Leonard still views San Antonio as a championship-caliber team, and it starts with me and LA [Aldridge], first, he said. If we win a championship, its going to be up to us to lead the group.That last statement represents a major shift in where Aldridge stood at this point last season.Think about it: Oct. 20, 2015, seems like a lifetime ago. But on that night, coming off a 104-84 loss to the Phoenix Suns in Game 5 of the preseason, Aldridge hit the court 20 minutes after the buzzer sounded at 9:44 p.m. For more than an hour, Aldridge took pass after pass from Spurs assistant Ime Udoka, firing countless jump shots from multiple angles, followed by a succession of free throws on one basket with him repeating the entire process again on the opposite end of the court.In that game, Aldridge shot 4-of-10 for nine points in 28 minutes, and up to that point, in two outings at the AT&T Center, he had connected on 8 of 24 shots.Thats why a tired and sweaty Aldridge walked back out on the court in practice gear to get in more work, as workers scrambled to pull up the floor off and get the ice ready for an upcoming San Antonio Rampage hockey game. Aldridge didnt leave the court until 11:14 p.m. that night.I dont really know these rims like that, Aldridge said at the time. Everything is still new to me.Not anymore.Im a lot more confident, for sure, Aldridge said. Comfortable, confident and looking forward to it, whereas last year was kind of a mystery, my first year leaving a team I had been with for so long. This year was a lot easier, for sure. I know whats going on most of the time, where I was lost all the time [last season]. I think Im doing more teaching this training camp as far as the younger guys, and trying to instill the principles, whereas last year, I was just learning everything for the first time.Aldridge started 74 games during the regular season in 2015-16, and averaged 18 points, a team-high 8.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.09 blocks in an average of 30.6 minutes on the floor. Aldridge said he didnt start to find a comfort zone until after the All-Star break. But even that feeling proved fleeting when on April 8, Aldridge dislocated his right pinkie finger attempting a reverse layup against Golden State, which was blocked by Andrew Bogut.Still, Aldridge found a way to crank up the production even more in the postseason, averaging 21.9 points to go with 8.3 rebounds, 1.4 blocks and an assist in 33.7 minutes, while nailing .521 from the field. In fact, Aldridge became the first Spur to score 20 points or more in the first five games of a playoff series (against Oklahoma City in the Western Conference semifinals) since Tim Duncan accomplished the feat in 2007 against the Phoenix Suns.ddddddddddddI would say I felt my best in the playoffs, Aldridge said. Thats when I really felt like I could be myself and do the things I do.Added Buford: The continued production you saw [from Aldridge] was us all learning to play together.Still, Aldridge admitted to feeling frustration leading up to that point.Of course theres going to be frustration because I felt I wasnt helping the team as much as I could, he said. I wasnt bringing the value I felt like I could. But I stayed patient with it. The coaching staff was great, talking to me every day and keeping me positive.Spurs coach Gregg Popovich led the charge in that arena. During most early afternoon shootarounds in advance of night games, Popovich could often be seen alone with Aldridge leaning against the scorers table away from the rest of the team counseling the power forward.On multiple occasions, Popovich admitted last season that Aldridge was deferring to his new teammates, just trying to fit in.Now, Popovich absolutely envisions Aldridge taking on more of a leadership role with the Spurs in the absence of Duncan.LaMarcus and Kawhi are the main scorers on the team so to speak, Popovich said. So itll be interesting to see how [their] leadership develops.Aldridge welcomes the challenge.Sure, I know that he and I have to take on bigger roles, especially [with] Tim being gone, Aldridge said. Were going to try and be more vocal leaders; try to do more on the floor and in practice. Its just a mutual understanding that things are starting to shift here, and its just more on him and me.Along the way, Aldridge needs to further advance his 3-point shooting acumen, while learning to co-exist with another new big in Pau Gasol, who joined the Spurs back in July after playing the past two seasons with the Chicago Bulls.Despite shooting 51.3 percent from the field last season, Aldridge attempted a total of 16 shots from long range and none of them fell. That statistic fell in stark contrast to Aldridges production from 3-point range in his final season with the Portland Trail Blazers in 2014-15, when the five-time All-Star connected on a career-high 37 of 105 from 3-point range.Popovich talked to Aldridge during the offseason about incorporating that element back into his game.Pop after last season told me to get back with it, Aldridge said. So Ill start taking that shot more this year.As for Gasol, Aldridge expects the two to develop chemistry quickly.Hes a very skilled player. Weve had some high-low action together, Aldridge said. I feel like weve kind of learned how to play off each other in the post; so far, so good. The players who have played versus him, we all feel like hes a pretty smart player. I dont see him having issues picking up the offense. He played the triangle in L.A., and we have a lot of elbow stuff. I dont see him having any issues with that.The pairing with Aldridge only reinforces Gasols belief that despite recent changes to the game, a strong interior presence makes a difference.The game has changed, no question about it, Gasol said. The teams that have won championships have won going small and playing at a faster pace. So you have to be aware of it, adjust to it. But you dont get away from your strength. Im a big believer in playing to the strengths of you weapons and you have to utilize them. Were all here to win. Thats the main thing. The team is always gonna be first. So whatever it takes.Thats Aldridges mentality, too, which is why day after day he stands in the corner letting 3-pointers fly at practice in an attempt to add yet another wrinkle as he preps to play Year 2 with the Spurs now totally in his comfort zone.Aldridge didnt travel with the team Monday for its 91-86 loss to the Phoenix Suns in the exhibition opener.People are a lot better than Year 1 [in Year 2] as far as being comfortable, he said. I feel like I adjusted as time went on. Now, it should be easy for me. ' ' '