Europa League update: Tottenham Hotspur

Spurs in the running for Europa League Premier League, FA Cup

On Thursday, February 22, Tottenham Hotspur host KAA Gent at Wembley Stadium in London in the second leg of their Europa League Round of 32 tie. Great legal, last minute Tottenham Hotspur v KAA Gent tickets are for sale now securely online from LiveFootballTickets.com! Tottenham Hotspur are in third place on the England Premier League Table and are still in the running for the FA Cup and Europa League. The Spurs have a good chance of winning against Gent in the Europa League. Then on February 26 Tottenham host Stoke City and Everton on March 5 at White Hart Lane in the Premier League. The Spurs face Millwall in the FA Cup on March 11 at White Hart Lane.

• Europa League Tottenham Hotspur v KAA Gent Tickets
• English Premier League Tottenham Hotspur v Stoke City Tickets
• Premier League Tottenham Hotspur v Everton Tickets
• FA Cup Tottenham Hotspur v Millwall Tickets

Tottenham are prepared to fight in every match in the battle for Europa League, Premier League and FA Cup silverware under the leadership of Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino. Spurs defender said Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino has prepared his players for the club’s remaining clashes by adapting his training methods this season. Spurs' hopes of winning the Premier League have faded a bit but they are still in the running for the FA Cup and the Europa League, as well as a second consecutive year qualifying for the Champions League. Since Pochettino’s arrival almost three years ago, he has massively transformed his side and pushed his men to improve them, while reducing the intensity of the training schedule. Pochettino is a progressive coach said Walker.

“He's made a few tweaks which I think has helped us recover a lot faster,' Walker said. “He's cut down on some of the training sessions, we don't train every day now, and with the intensity of the training sessions as well, he might not demand as much as he used to. He's a great manager, he thinks about us as players and individuals. We're quite happy to go and voice our opinion. If we're a bit tired he says, "okay today is a bit of a down-day for you. I can only speak for myself but I've still got a lot left in the tank this season. I still feel very fresh.” Kyle Walker believes he and his team-mates are prepared for a sprint finish with Spurs this year. Twenty-six year old Kyle Walker made his debut for Tottenham seven years ago, in a 2-0 win against Portsmouth. Under Pochettino, he has developed into one of the Spurs key players and deadliest right backs in European soccer.

“People used to say I relied on my pace to get out of sticky situations but it's like saying, "what if Cristiano Ronaldo didn't have fast feet?"' said Walker. “Fast feet gets him out of situations, it's one of his strengths, just like pace is one of mine. When I first hit the Premier League I was 21. It was my first season and people didn't know what to expect. It's not that you can't fail but it's like, everyone is so excited for you, you're a young Englishman and everyone was buzzing for me. A couple of seasons after that, it got more difficult. People get to know you and they start talking about your strengths and weaknesses. Then the manager came in and the coaching he's given me - about where I need to be on the field when the ball is in a certain area - it has definitely made me a better defender and a better player.” Spurs lost against Gent in the Europa League earlier this month and have a deficit to overturn in the return match.

There's talk about another exciting English full-back coming through at Spurs, Kyle Walker-Peters, the coincidentally named 19-year-old who signed a new three-year deal earlier this month is also an exciting full-back. ‘I speak to Kyle on a daily basis, he's always asking questions,' Walker said. “He's been fantastic playing in the reserves and whenever he's trained with us he's stood out to be honest. He deserves his new contract.' Walker was asked about the changes during his 7 years, 4 managers and 174 Premier League appearances at Tottenham. “The culture,’ replied Walke. “When I first came in, it was all, "we might get Champions League, we might not. But now we've turned that corner and we want more. Last season even though it was disappointing, it was a big learning curve. I feel the team we have now is perfect. We've got the players and the manager to go and do something special.”

Spurs host Gent in the Europa League at Wembley on Thursday looking to overturn a 1-0 deficit, before resuming their Champions League qualification chase on Sunday against Stoke sitting level on 50 points with Arsenal. 'To finish above Arsenal would be fantastic but we're not worried about them,' said Walker. “When I first signed I said I wanted to win trophies and I want to do that here before my time is up.”

UEFA Europa League Leg 1 Match Report

Gent 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur

Jeremy Perbet gave the Belgian side Gent the first leg advantage against Spurs when he opened the scoring for Gent in the second half scoring the winner and only goal of the game. Tottenham Hotspur’s Jan Vertonghen said Tottenham Hotspur can cope with demands of attempting to combine Premier League, Europa League and FA Cup campaigns for the rest of the season. Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino will need to choose strong teams when Gent visit Wembley with a one-goal lead on Thursday night. Vertonghen returned from injury against Fulham, is not concerned with the demands being placed on him and his team-mates. “I think the manager understands the importance of the Europa League and the FA Cup, and it’s good we take it very seriously,” said Vertonghen. “We want to win both and compete in the League as well, and I think our team is fit enough to cope with these things.

Spurs had a tough time against Gent last Thursday, and must overturn a 1-0 deficit in the second leg on Thursday in order to go through. “I can only talk for myself, but I like to play as many games as possible and maybe the other guys as well. It’s good to rotate a couple of players like Kyle Walker and Eric Dier against Fulham. Next time maybe two or three others will rest. Playing 90 minutes against Fulham after five weeks out is not tricky but you never know what you’re going to get, so I’m happy. I’m used to ankle recoveries now and I worked very hard with the medical staff. It all went very well, I didn’t have any setbacks so, hopefully, it will stay like this until the end of the season.” Mauricio Pochettino faces a juggling act with Spurs still fighting on multiple fronts as the Italian needs to play a strong team in every game since Tottenham are desperate to end a nine-year drought without a trophy.

“We played a final against Chelsea at Wembley a couple of years ago and we want more of that,” said Vertonghen. “I won some silverware at Ajax and it’s the best thing there is in football. I think this team and the technical staff deserve a trophy with this club. We have improved a lot since our last final. It’s only two years, but we have improved a lot, we’ve got stronger. The gaffer has had time to work with us and we understand the way he wants us to play. We are a lot stronger than then and we have shown that in the last couple of years.” Pochettino held meetings after the defeat in Gent to make sure Tottenham’s season does not end in disappointment. “We just talked to each other after the game in the Europa League and said ‘yeah, we have to change’,” said Toby Alderweireld. “We knew everyone was trying, but we needed to get the good feeling back. And one way is to work very hard and try to change it as quickly as possible. I think today we showed the desire is there. The meetings were just to see to the future. I think everybody works hard, everybody is doing their best, so we can’t complain on that. We just needed the desire to come back more than ever. Everyone knew what we had to do against Fulham - go to the next round and next Thursday go to the next round as well. The two games are very important to the future.”

Squads

Gent
Kalinic, Mitrovic, Asare (Gershon), Dejaegere, Gigot, Saief, Esiti, Foket, Simon (Kalu), Perbet (Coulibaly), Milicevic

Tottenham Hotspur
Lloris, Walker, Alderweireld, Dier, Davies, Wanyama, Dembele (Son), Sissoko (Nkoudou), Alli, Winks (Eriksen), Kane

2017 TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR TICKETS
FEB 23 Europa League Tottenham Hotspur v KAA Gent Tickets Wembley Stadium - London, United Kingdom
FEB 26 English Premier League Tottenham Hotspur v Stoke City Tickets White Hart Lane - London, United Kingdom
MAR 5 English Premier League Tottenham Hotspur v Everton Tickets White Hart Lane - London, United Kingdom
MAR 11 FA Cup Tottenham Hotspur v Millwall Tickets White Hart Lane - London, United Kingdom
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