Tottenham are entering a small phase of the season in which the team and their supporters will find out what can realistically be achieved this campaign.

And it starts with a big match tomorrow (Saturday).

The opponents are, of course, the champions - Manchester United. Spurs’ red-hot start to the campaign will be severely tested by the Red Devils who, despite not looking especially potent without the departed Cristiano Ronaldo – the 5-0 win at Wigan excepted – will have been buoyed by their 2-1 victory over old rivals Arsenal, whether merited or not.

That result will have raised a cheer in N17 as Tottenham subsequently remained the only team in north London to retain a 100% record in the Barclays Premier League. However, that will surely come under threat with the visit of United.

Harry Redknapp’s charges have been in curious form. They have looked unwaveringly confident in some matches and stuttering, albeit only slightly, in others.

The opening day of the season brought one of the toughest challenges of the season - the visit of Liverpool, a team that suffered just two defeats all last season.

Tottenham’s response to that challenge was to dominate the match from start to finish and repeat last campaign’s 2-1 scoreline over the Merseysiders.

Whatever Rafa Benitez may claim about Steven Gerrard being fouled in the penalty area, an equaliser would have been thoroughly undeserved and denied Tottenham a well-earned win.

But Tottenham like to do this - pull off an excellent result against one of the big-boys before throwing any confidence or momentum away by dropping points against mediocre opposition.

Not so when they travelled to Hull for their second game of the season, coming away with a 5-1 win courtesy of a Jermain Defoe hat-trick.

Since that Wednesday evening, though, Tottenham have been less scintillating if still delivering the points. A deserved though scrappy win away at London neighbours West Ham was followed by a last-gasp victory at home to Birmingham City.

Points, however, are not to be sniffed at - especially when they come in bundles of three. And if grumblings can be made about the marginal nature of their last two wins then at least they have not yet lost a game they were expected to triumph in, unlike Manchester United at Turf Moor.

The four straight wins this season have obviously been a team effort but have hinged on the performances of three players – Wilson Palacios, Defoe and Aaron Lennon.

The Honduran midfielder has been a revelation since he joined from Wigan in January. His performance against Liverpool and the nullification of Gerrard whilst still providing attacking impetus was inspiring and he set a standard that he has continued since.

Defoe has, quite simply, forgotten how to miss. Everything he has touched has turned to goals, whether bearing down on the goalkeeper with time to pick his spot or swivelling on a sixpence to instinctively arrow the ball into the bottom corner.

His four goals in the League, coupled with three for England this season, talk about a player in the best form of his life and a man guaranteed to be on his way to South Africa for next summer’s World Cup.

But it is Lennon who has to be the biggest surprise of the three. His searing pace and ability to turn full-backs into corkscrews has been evident for the past four years. What has not been evident is a final ball. Finally it has arrived and the former Leeds flyer is devastating opponents, having scored twice and made two assists already.

These three players will be even more crucial for Tottenham now that they have lost Luka Modric to injury. Though Redknapp moved quickly to snap up Niko Kranjcar to fill his fellow Croat’s boots, the responsibility of beating Manchester United will rest more on the established personnel.

The midfield is where Sir Alex Ferguson’s team can be exploited and expect Palacios to be snapping around the centre of the park disrupting the rhythm of the likes of Anderson or Michael Carrick.

United do have pace in their team but Lennon can still prove effective now that he seems to have learned how to cross. Rio Ferdinand may return in central defence for the visitors but if Defoe gets a sniff of goal he will not pass it up.

The game is a mouth-watering prospect and is very hard to call. It is always hard to bet against Manchester United but if Tottenham can replicate the drive and intensity from the opening day of the season, there is no reason why they cannot upset the apple cart.

Their last two meetings at White Hart Lane, though, have been draws and that is the most likely outcome of this match.

Spurs will be happy with a point, despite yearning for all three, as next week they travel across town to Stamford Bridge. An unbeaten record going to Chelsea will give Tottenham the requisite confidence to get a positive result.

Chelsea go to Stoke this weekend and a win could set up a clash the following Sunday between two sides with a perfect record. Matches between these two London rivals are rarely quiet affairs and with more than just local pride riding on the result, expect fireworks in SW6.

Whatever happens, we will all find out much more about Tottenham in the next 10 days.