Rafael Van Der Vaart urges his team mates to step it up against weaker sides
Rafael Van Der Vaart has come out in the media and issued a rallying call to his team mates as Tottenham look to solidify their place in the top four of the English Premier League. It has been a memorable season for Spurs already
as they have qualified for the UEFA Champions League’s knockout stages. In the round of sixteen of the UEFA Champions League, Tottenham are scheduled to face the Italian league leaders and giants, A.C Milan. It is bound to be a tough encounter for the London
club, a club which has come a long way under the management of Harry Redknapp in the past two years.
When Harry Redknapp took over the club in 2008, Tottenham were languishing in the bottom three of the English Premier League but since his arrival at White Hart Lane, Tottenham have gone from strength to strength. Last season,
Tottenham finished fourth in the English League standings, above the likes of Aston Villa, Everton and http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Liverpool-c39809.
In doing so, they secured a place in the UEFA Champions League competition for the 2010-2011 season. One of Tottenham’s marquee signings of the summer transfer window of 2010 has been Rafael Van Der Vaart. Bought for only 8 million
pounds, the Dutch midfielder has lit White Hart Lane alight as Tottenham have once again impressed in the 2010-2011 season. Spurs are currently 5th in the English Premier League table as they are unbeaten in their last eight matches in all competitions.
This unbeaten run stretches back to the month of November during which Tottenham bested their rivals Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.
In his latest interview, Rafael has warned his team mates at Tottenham that they will lose the race to finish in the top four of the English Premier League come May of 2011 if they don’t step it up against the weaker sides in the
league. Tottenham might be fifth but their record in the English Premier League thus far includes defeats to the likes of West Ham United and Wigan Athletic. Both Wigan and West Ham are currently in the bottom three of the Premier League standings.
On the other hand, Spurs have already won against Arsenal and Liverpool and earned draws against http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Chelsea-c38786 and Manchester City. Their only loss in a big team encounter this season came at Old Trafford where Manchester United defeated
Harry Redknapp’s men by two goals to nil thanks to a controversial Luis http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Nemanja-Vidic-c27550 header. Spurs face Newcastle United, Aston Villa, Fulham and Everton in the coming weeks and Rafael Van Der Vaart spoke about these matches in his latest
interview.
The former Real Madrid ace said, "We have to win our games and have confidence that we will be in the top four. It will be hard work. There are a lot of good teams but we play well against the big teams and some of the small clubs
we have our problems." Van Der Vaart’s comments were complimented by Kevin Bond’s acceptance of the importance of Tottenham’s form through the festive period.
Kevin said, "If we could go through that Christmas and New Year period unbeaten that would be great. That would keep us there or thereabouts and they are all games you would hope to get something from. With so many games coming
over a short space of time, if you don't get some decent results then you can take yourself out of the running and we can't afford to do that so we need to keep at it."
The Dutchman concluded the interview with the local media by elaborating on Aston Villa, who are Tottenham’s next opponents on Sunday 26th of December, 2011. Rafael said, "I played there (at Villa Park) once with the
national team against http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/England-c749. It's a nice stadium and they are a great team. When we played them at home it was difficult but it was a nice game. I expect a difficult match but we're going to win."
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