Tottenham senior star makes Europa League claim ahead of Gent clash
By Danny Wright
Hugo Lloris believes that Tottenham need the experience of crunch games in the Europa League and FA Cup to propel them to the trophies they should be winning.
In an interview with The Mirror, Lloris said that Tottenham have a great young squad but they need to test themselves deep in the key competitions to gain the experience they need.
He pointed to the Premier League race last year, and said fighting for the title is not enough.
“Even if we had good experience when we were fighting for the title last season, it is not enough”, said Lloris in The Mirror.
“It is difficult to explain and we need to question ourselves about this,” Lloris added.
“We need to have ambitions in the Europa League and FA Cup because it is important to feel this kind of pressure.
“We have lots of young talent and we need to get used to the pressure of these games to improve because you can’t buy experience. You have to face these situations, live them.”
Spurs begin their Europa League campaign on Thursday night when they take on Gent in the first leg of their round of 32 tie.
The club have history in the competition against Belgian clubs – they won the competition for the second time in 1984 when they beat Anderlect. They also won the very first edition of the tournament in 1972, beating Wolves in the final.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side are competing in the Europa League after failing to qualify from their Champions’ League group in December.
Spurs almsot went out of the FA Cup in the fourth round against Wycombe Wanderers. They were 3-2 down in the 89th minute before late goals from Dele Alli and Son Heung-Min rescued them.
Tottenham face Fulham in the next round of the FA Cup on Sunday as they look to win the competition for the first time since 1991.
In other Tottenham news, Eric Dier says Spurs 20-year-old isn’t fazed by interest.
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