Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
‘Improving more important than Spurs silverware’
FORMER Tottenham captain Ledley King says the club do not need to win a trophy this season for the campaign to be a success.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side reached the Champions League final last term, losing to Liverpool in Madrid, with the Argentinian still waiting to lift his first piece of silverware since taking over in 2014.
The former Southampton boss has questioned the importance of domestic cup competitions in the past, choosing instead to focus on Europe and a Premier League title tilt, although he recently conceded that lifting a trophy of any description was his personal goal for 2019-20.
Spurs were in the hunt in the league for the first half of last season before patchy results and the form of Manchester City and Liverpool saw them drop off the pace.
But even another campaign without a trophy should not automatically be regarded as a failure, according to King, who captained Spurs to victory in the 2008 League Cup Final – the last silverware won by the club.
“No, it is important just to improve,” he said when asked if it was vital for Tottenham to break their trophy duck.
“We all want to win trophies but it is not a given.
“It is very difficult and no one has a given right to win anything.
“We all realise how difficult it is to win trophies at the moment – Manchester City won three last year, so the competition is very tough.
“The players want to improve and they will be looking to try to compete and, until they are out of a potential title race, they will believe they can be right up there among it.”