Motivated Lloris is back with Jose joy the spur
TOTTENHAM captain Hugo Lloris has vowed to give boss Jose Mourinho his all in helping deliver a top-four finish in the Premier League this season.
Lloris made his return to the Spurs side in Wednesday night’s 2-1 win over Norwich following a three-month injury absence and life could not be more different since his last appearance.
When the Frenchman suffered a dislocated elbow at Brighton in October, Mauricio Pochettino was still in charge and expected to lead the rebuild at the club.
But fast-forward to January and Mourinho has been in the job for two months and Spurs are still in the race for a Champions League qualification place.
Lloris, who Mourinho said would be out until early February, was a staunch ally of Pochettino, and praised the job the Argentinian did, but is now fully committed to Mourinho.
“Like all my team-mates, I have such a deep respect for what Mauricio Pochettino has done for the club and his staff,” he said.
“He’s one of the best managers in the world and we wish him all the best. He’s a fantastic man and hopefully we’ll see him soon in a new club.
“It’s a great opportunity to work under Jose Mourinho, he’s one of the best and most successful managers of the last 20 years and as a player it’s a great opportunity to work under him.
“I’m the kind of guy who looks forward and I just want to be focused on today and tomorrow, and it’s not the right moment to talk about that (Pochettino).
“You know how close I am with Mauricio but, at the same time, I’m involved 100% and I will give my best with Jose Mourinho, like all my team-mates, like we used to do.
“It’s the minimum you can give to the manager. In the end, we work all together for the club and we all want the success of the club.”
Spurs, robbed of key players, have been limping on in the race for top four, but closed the gap on Chelsea to six points with a 2-1 success over Norwich. It was their first win since Boxing Day and Lloris has called on his side to post a run of wins.
“We know it’s not the best season of the last five years but we need to stick together, carry on and get the maximum points,” he said. “We can see it’s not easy for the other challengers for the top four and the situation is we’re six points behind Chelsea.
“We need to keep believing in ourselves and keep going until the end. We know there will be a lot of chances to get back but it’s up to us. We always talk about consistency in the Premier League and it will be the key to get a few wins in a row.
“At the moment it’s not the case but we try to build something, especially in terms of confidence, to get back in the right way.
“We are positive in the changing room and that’s the only thing that matters.”
Norwich are also six points off their target — 17 th position — and midfielder Lukas Rupp felt his side deserved more from a game in which they dominated the second half.
“It was a good game from us,” he said. “Of course, we are disappointed, but we had the chances. If we keep on going like that, we will get the points.
“One point is deserved from this game but that’s football. Tottenham are a great team but in the end it wasn’t deserved for them.” • NIALL Quinn has been appointed interim deputy CEO at the Football Association of Ireland.
The former Republic of Ireland international will work alongside Gary Owens, who was named interim CEO earlier this week.
The FAI is at risk of insolvency and it was revealed last month that the governing body faces debts of up to €62million (£52m).
Owens said: “We are really pleased that someone of Niall’s calibre is joining the team.
“Football is such an important game in this country at every level. Niall not only brings great insight and experience to developing the game but is passionate about football in Ireland.
“His energy and commitment is a great fit for the FAI as we begin reform of the organisation and look to create a better future for football in Ireland.”
Former striker Quinn, 53, made 92 appearances for the Republic and scored 21 goals. He also played for Arsenal, Manchester City and Sunderland, where he later became chairman.
The FAI said in a statement: “In addressing the current challenges facing the FAI, the executive team want to ensure that the organisation’s core objective of the promotion and development of the game in Ireland is prioritised.
“Niall’s role will focus on leading a future League of Ireland strategy, the overall development of the game in Ireland, including supporting grassroots and community initiatives together with our player pathway programmes.
“Niall will also focus on helping restore and build key relationships and trust with key peer groups and the media.”