Tottenham Hotspur manager Andre Villas-Boas faces a tough Europa League fixture against Lazio tonight at White Hart Lane, but insists his side will survive despite missing a few first team players.
The Portuguese boss is confident that his side have the quality to progress through to the knockout stages of the competition, despite losing out key players to injuries. However, Villas-Boas has called for caution and composure ahead of tonight’s clash.
Yesterday, the manager had challenged his team to go for the Europa League title. In the past seasons under former manager Harry Redknapp, the Europa League hasn’t been a top priority for the club. Spurs mostly fielded out a reserve and second string squad,
and instead focused on the Premier League and Champions League qualification.
Villas-Boas insists that the competition is just as important as any other tournament, and wants his side to win it and bring history to White Hart Lane. Having won the title with former club Porto, the manager is no stranger to the European tournament.
However, Spurs face a tough task ahead of them as they prepare to host Italian outfit http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Lazio-c39775 tonight. The club is without reliable left-back Benoit Assou-Ekotto, who has been ruled out for 4 weeks on account of a knee injury.
The manager is also without the services of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Jake-Livermore-c17604, who suffered injuries in the early weeks of the season. Scott Parker has been struggling with an Achilles problem while Kaboul and Assou-Ekotto are out for a more
prolonged period.
The latest addition to this list is Togolese striker http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Emmanuel-Adebayor-c12526, who has been ruled out of the side following a hamstring injury. The Portuguese manager is aware his side will have to be cautious ahead of tonight’s game, but is confident that they
will be able to get a result.
Speaking to the press, he said:
"We're struggling with recent injuries and with two more important players out we have been limited in terms of what we can do. Luckily, in terms of midweek games, we are starting from now.”
"The squad has a lot of players we cannot count on. But we have 18 available and between them we have enough quality to take us through the initial stages of the competition.”
"We have to be very careful from now on."
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