CAPITAL ONE
Spurs captain Lloris: Finally beating Chelsea was only the start.. there is something massive happening here
HUGO LLORIS summed up the excitement with a simple sentence.
Something big is happening at Tottenham.
It has been ever since Mauricio Pochettino arrived. The records tumbling are simply evidence of the hard work put in by the Argentine, his staff, the board and the club, coming to fruition.
Hit the North Circular Road eastbound, just past IKEA and the new, £800million stadium looms magnificently into view. Barring a miracle it will host Champions League football next season – the third successive year that Pochettino has led Spurs into the elite competition.
Christian Eriksen’s howitzer and Dele Alli’s redemptive brace ended a 28-year wait to beat Chelsea at the Bridge on Sunday.
The feat was achieved without their best defender, Toby Alderweireld, and with top-scorer Harry Kane playing only a cameo role after three weeks out injured.
After 22 years of looking up at Arsenal in the Premier League table, Spurs are on course to finish ahead of them for the second successive season.
Moreover, they are set to be the capital’s only representative in the Champions League next season. By bringing in Pochettino, Spurs chairman Daniel Levy may just have pulled off the best bit of business he has ever done.
No wonder keeper Lloris, 31, who considered quitting Spurs before the Argentine’s arrival, shares the fans’ excitement.
“Obviously, with the new stadium, something big is waiting for us.” he said. “We cannot see this future without the Champions League.
“So beating Chelsea was a good answer, a collective answer, and we will keep working hard.
“The manager, the players, the club and the fans. I think it has been a few years now where we have worked together and we’ve improved a lot and we try to put the club in an upper level.
“It is not easy every day, but we work hard, have a good philosophy and energy, and I think it makes sense when you see Tottenham play.”
Kane said: “We don’t just want to be a team that gets into the Champions League for one or two years and then falls off.
“We deserve to be there. We showed this year we can compete with the best, although it was disappointing to go out of the competition. But we had some great results, so we want to be there again next year.”
Alli was saluted by the entire team after the Chelsea match. Especially after he was snubbed by Gareth Southgate against Italy last week.
Pochettino has always defended the 21-year-old against critics, who refuse to accept he is a young man with a lot to learn, and skipper Lloris added: “He is still young, but has a big personality and showed it.
“To react in that way is fantastic. I don’t know what happened in the national team, but he came back to training with a big willingness to show his quality.
“He is ready to finish this season strong.”