Tottenham Hotspur manager Andre Villas-Boas is confident and upbeat that his side will progress through to the knock-out stages of the Europa League, despite sitting at 3rd in group J.
Spurs faced Panathinaikos for their second group J game. The side travelled to Athens on Thursday night, and despite taking the lead and dominating the game, ended up drawing 1-1.
Defender http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Tom-c35214 Huddleston free kick. From there on, Tottenham kept the ball and dictated proceedings. However, they switched off towards the end when Toche grabbed a last minute equalizer
for Panathinaikos and salvaged a vital point for his side.
This is Tottenham’s second draw in the group stages; the first was played out at home against Italian outfit http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Lazio-c39775. Tottenham had again, dominated the game but failed to grab a goal that counted after having seen three disallowed by the referee and the linesmen.
It was indeed a disappointing couple of weeks in the European competition for the team, but manager Andre Villas-Boas insists that his team still have the quality to progress through to the knock-out stages.
The manager last week stressed on the importance of the competition, and insisted that it remains a major priority for him.
Speaking to the press after the 1-1 draw, he said:
"Everything is open as we go into the double-headers. It's only after the fourth game [of six] you know who will go through. I don't think we were complacent.”
"We were a bit sloppy in the second half. I understand the disappointment at not putting the game to bed, but in the end we congratulated the players because if it had been other way round, the whole perspective would have been different."
"The ambition we set for this competition is to go to the final, to win the trophy. It is a trophy this club has won in the past so we embrace the tradition."
Tottenham will host Aston Villa in the Premier League at White Hart Lane tomorrow. Villas-Boas will be eying a win as he looks to continue his undefeated streak of three games in the league and six games in all competitions.
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