Spurs are currently level on points with Manchester United and just three behind Premier League leaders Manchester City.
“Tottenham are right in there, especially the way the league is measuring up,” said Neville.
“There’s a long way to go, but they couldn’t ask for anything more. And they are playing with both freedom and confidence.
“Spurs played with more confidence, more patience.
“(Emmanuel) Adebayor gives them a tremendous presence up front. That, for me, is the biggest difference.
“His physicality means he occupies both centre-backs. Maybe that’s what they didn’t have last year. He lets the wingers stretch the team and creates space for Rafael van der Vaart, who is their key man.”
Neville added: “The biggest test will come in March when you don’t play with that kind of confidence and freedom.
“Whether Spurs can grind out results then is the question they still need to answer. I don’t think they’ve got it in them to dig out results, to put 10 behind the ball and play on the counter.
“They like to exert themselves on games, which means you always feel you’ve got a chance of scoring against them. Everything seems to be going nicely for them. They are playing nice football, some of the best in the league.
“But come March and April when everybody is going to drop points, we will see how they react. The biggest test is when you’ve been on a winning run and you draw or lose and you’ve got to bounce back.”
