I’m close to lads at Arsenal... but today there are no friends
We have a lot of academy players ... they have the Spurs blood
THE din of Upton Park was still ringing in his ears but Hugo Lloris had cleansed his system of the defeat. No longer does he spend sleepless nights rewinding goals in his mind in the hope he might save one.
At 29, Lloris has found an inner peace. ‘Calm’ and ‘tranquillity’ are among his favourite words and nothing changed because Tottenham lost 1-0 at West Ham. He talks of the ‘Spurs blood’ running through a squad ready to tackle the final 10 league games, helped, of course, by the fact Arsenal and Manchester City were also beaten.
Tottenham’s training ground is besieged by young families from the Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice, so his perspective is in good order. And Lloris is reassured by his complete faith in Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino.
‘From the first chat with him — on the phone because I was away with the France team preparing for the World Cup — I knew he was the right person,’ said Lloris. ‘We have the same vision of football.
‘ He has brought consistency and stability. He helped me to be tranquil about the future of the club. He made me calmer. Without him maybe I would have a different career. In life you meet some people who can make it better and I’m very pleased to work under Mauricio.’
Lloris is settled in London. He signed a five-year deal in 2014 when Pochettino arrived. A year later, he was made club captain. He is a quiet and thoughtful leader, one of the world’s top keepers and part of the Premier League’s meanest defence.
But it didn’t always feel this way. After a £12million move from Lyon he found Andre Villas-Boas loyal to Brad Friedel. Frustration sparked speculation about moves to Paris Saint- Germain and Manchester United as the weeks ticked by and it has proved hard to stop.
Olivier Giroud did not help when he went on French TV and said the Tottenham keeper fancied a move to Arsenal, which was swiftly denied. ‘It was very embarrassing,’ said Lloris. ‘Maybe he didn’t realise how big the impact would be. A little sentence now in football can have a big impact. I don’t really care what people think outside because I’m here every day. I’m very close to the chairman and the gaffer.’
Lloris lives in Hampstead with his wife Marine and two daughters, and is close to the French contingent at Arsenal, including Giroud and Laurent Koscielny. ‘We share some moments outside of football,’ he said. ‘We play in the national team together but we are respectful. During the game, there are no friends.’
That divide will exist at White Hart Lane today; a derby with added value — a bona fide six-pointer.
Tottenham, chasing a first title for 55 years, are three points behind Leicester. Arsenal are a further three points adrift. If the power is really shifting in north London, the Spurs captain can identify the catalyst.
‘From the beginning of my Tottenham career I thought I had signed at a club with big potential,’ said Lloris. ‘We just needed to bring in the right person. The gaffer and his staff have changed the mental- ity. It’s not only football, it’s everything. We feel warmer inside the training ground and this is very important for the club to feel as a family. The thing is there are not a lot of rules. We are very free, but the players understand they have responsibilities.
‘The main thing that has changed is that you can find hunger in the dressing room. The players want to improve, they want to work, they want to win. They show it every day.
‘I don’t want to compare with the past. I have too much respect for the club. But I am 29, 10 years in this profession, and I am enjoying my time today because I don’t have to get behind this or that player because the mentality has changed.’
The positive mood has infiltrated the crowd, notoriously fickle at White Hart Lane. Lloris added: ‘Against Swansea on Sunday we had a bad start and conceded a goal and I am sure in the years before they could have lost patience.
‘This is down to the players. If you put the right energy on the pitch the crowd follows. Something has changed if you compare with the last few seasons. Tottenham were always capable of unbelievable games, but we have consistency, and a lot of players from the academy, so they have the Spurs blood.
‘We don’t play 4-4-2 with the direct ball like in the past. We play with a modern philosophy. The fans can see we are aggressive and fight 100 per cent. That’s why they’re behind us. The foundations have been created. As captain I try to be loyal and do my job. We’ll work together to take this club to the next step.’
In the summer, Lloris will captain France at Euro 2016 with the hosts mired in a blackmail scandal involving Karim Benzema, and scarred by the horrors of the Paris attacks.
Didier Deschamps’ team became an unwitting symbol of defiance when the French FA fulfilled a fixture against England at Wembley, four days after 130 were killed by terrorists. ‘They took the decision and we respected it,’ said Lloris. ‘It was not about performance, more about solidarity. We play against Russia later this month in the Stade de France and it is important to go there again after what happened.
‘In France the feeling is a bit different because we have bad stories and it is not all positive. We try to fight against that but I can say that France is ready for the Euros. And the team will be as well.
‘It will help to have the French fans behind us. It is similar to Tottenham with a young generation and experimental players but we are capable of becoming a winning team.’
But first, the acid test for Spurs: Borussia Dortmund on Thursday, Arsenal today. Can they win something? Can they evolve into a ChampionsC League team?
‘You don’t want to play in it one year and then fight against relegation,’ said Lloris. ‘You want to build something strong. This game is very important because it is a derby. It means a lot for this community. But there are nine other games.
‘There will be a lot of opportunit ties. We don’t want to miss too many, like at West Ham. After a defeat it is easy to create doubts. But the other results helped us not to dramatise it. We need to be cons sistent if we want a Champions League place, or maybe more. We don’t talk about the title yet.
‘We will see in April where we’ll be for the last five games. If we are close, there will be words to say. For the moment we take it game by game. There are still 30 points to win. We want as many as possible.’