By Chris Mills
Hugo Lloris has urged his Tottenham Hotspur team-mates to approach their Europa League campaign with a similar attitude to that of the Champions League, the Evening Standard reports.
Spurs travelled to Belgian First Division side K.A.A Gent on Thursday night and were unexpectedly beaten 1-0.
The France international stated that his side need to take the competition seriously, following their exit from the Champions League last year.
“In our mind it has to be like the Champions League,” the London Evening Standard quote Lloris as saying.
“It is still a good competition to win and we are all ambitious. We want to go as far as possible and for that, we have to be focused.”
Tottenham slipped ten points behind Chelsea following their defeat at Liverpool last weekend, and with six teams battling it out for that all important top-four spot, their campaign in the Europa League could offer an alternative route back to Europe’s elite next season.
Following a poor Champions League group-stage showing earlier in the year, Mauricio Pochettino’s men find themselves in the tournament for the sixth-successive season.
The Argentine gambled by playing a strong side on Thursday night, but this backfired as Spurs were beaten 1-0 in modest surrounds.
An FA Cup clash with Fulham on Sunday gives Tottenham a chance to get back to winning ways but a trip to Craven Cottage is by no means an easy away day.