NO EXCUSES FOR A WEAKENED SPURS

MAURICIO POCHETTINO warned there can be no excuses as Tottenham arrived in Cyprus without six of his first-choice team, including creator-in-chief Christian Eriksen. The Dane did not travel after falling sick in the early hours of yesterday and stretched a squad already without Dele Alli and Jan Vertonghen, both suspended, and injured trio Mousa Dembele, Victor Wanyama and Danny Rose. It heaped pressure on a fixture Spurs are expected to win against Cypriot champions Apoel Nicosia, with Pochettino desperate to add three more points after a 3-1 victory against Borussia Dortmund at Wembley. Next up in Group H is a double-header against holders Real Madrid. ‘Christian is a very important player for us,’ said Pochettino. ‘We will miss him but we need to move on. We need to find a way to play and perform and try to win. ‘He is ill, he stays in London and we trust the player who will come into his position. I am not a manager who cries because a player cannot play. ‘There are no excuses. We must win. We have a strong squad and this is a good opportunity to show it. ‘We started well against Borussia Dortmund and this is so important for our future in the Champions League to get the three points here.’ Apoel, who opened with a 3-0 defeat at the Bernabeu, can be stubborn opponents in Nicosia but Tottenham believe they are learning lessons after crashing out at the group stage last year. ‘The main thing was you have to be totally prepared for the team you are up against,’ said defender Ben Davies. ‘You can’t play the same way against every opponent. ‘It’s a totally different level of football and we have to be able to adjust. We can’t always go gung-ho. ‘Last season it didn’t go quite to plan but we want to show people we can compete at this level.’