Conversation Corner: Tottenham and Leicester Draw in Third Round FA Cup Tie
Tottenham defender, Danny Rose
Spurs TV: Okay Danny’s here. Captain Danny Rose today, Danny. But I’ll ask you about the captaincy in a bit. The game itself, I mean you were obviously heavily involved with a penalty right in the end and Harry stuck it away. And we rescued a two-all draw out of it.
Danny Rose: “Yeah obviously we could do without the replay because we got a lot of games coming up over the next two weeks. But nevertheless we’ve done well to not lose the game. And I thought it would be a repeat of last year where we went up 1-0, played very well first half and I don’t know how they scored two goals out of nothing. And fair play to them, but that said, it’s a great response from the lads and it was nice that Harry’s come on save the day for us.”
STV: I mean as a defender, first and foremost, I mean you would have appreciated that defending from Leicester. I mean we must have had 70 percent of the possession or something today. It’s like banging your head into a brick wall or sometimes.
DR: “Yeah that’s credit to them, they’ve done that all season. There was no surprise to us. We did a lot of team shape yesterday. And the gaffer [Mauricio Pochettino], he expressed that we would have a lot of the ball especially in the wide areas and we’d have to use it as best we can. And yeah they put their bodies on the line, blocked a lot of shots, blocked a lot of crosses. And just thankfully we got our equalizer at the end and got ourselves a replay.”
STV: But on fair play, it’s not the first time in the last 18 months that we got an equalizer at the end and we’re alive in the competition and that’s all that matters, bottom line.
DR: “Yeah, obviously I was here in 2008 when we won the League Cup final and I was lucky enough to be a part of the team last season where we got to the League Cup final. and it’d be great if we could have a FA Cup run this year. So yeah, we’re glad that we’re still involved and we’re going to go to Leicester in 10 days time and hopefully try to progress into the next round.”
STV: Now of course today, captain. I mean it must have been a proud moment for you. I think it was 107 games down the line Danny, and there you go with the captain’s armband. So well done on that.
DR: “Yeah thank you. It was a bit of a surprise. The management only said probably an hour or hour-and-a-half before kick-off. And I asked him if he was serious and yeah, he said yeah. And it’s a proud moment for myself and my family. And I hope there will be a few more games along the line where I walk the team out especially at White Hart Lane.”
STV: I mean you’ve been here for a long time. You know about the captains at this club. I mean you know the likes of Ledley [King] don’t you? You’re following in those footsteps putting on the captain’s armband.
DR: “Yeah yeah, there’s been Ledley. [Michael] Dawson who was here. And obviously now we got the best ‘keeper in the league who’s our number one captain [Hugo Lloris], followed by Harry. And yeah I’m just happy that I can obviously be added to that list.”
STV: Does it do something to your game? Does it give you that extra 1 percent or something when you put on the armband because you got a lot more responsibilities now?
DR: “Yeah yeah it did to be fair. So I just sat there before the game trying to prepare myself. And when I found out, I felt I was given an extra, I don’t know, extra incentive to try and do well. And obviously spur the lads on whenever I could.”
“And first half I thought it was magnificent, I didn’t need to say much throughout the first half. It was just a shame we conceded two sloppy goals, and especially the second one so early in the second half. But like I said, we’re very lucky and fortunate to have someone like Harry come off the bench and save the day for us.”
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STV: I was gonna ask you about the next game which is against Leicester.
DR: “Yeah I think we should expect a similar game. Obviously they got [Jamie] Vardy maybe coming back in and [Riyad] Mahrez who’s been outstanding this season. So they’ll have a few key players coming back in as will we. And I think that the fans, and the players, should expect a similar game with lots of possession and they’ll try to hurt us on the counterattack.”
“But if we play how we did against Everton in the first half and how we did today in the first half and just try to convert some of those chances. We can put the game to bed and close the gap on them to one point, and I think it’ll be a fair win on Wednesday. So, we’re looking forward to it and we’ve got have two winnable home games we’ll be looking to win and push ourselves up the league [table].”
STV: And congratulations today, captain.
DR: “Thank you.”