Tottenham Captain Dismisses Slump Talk

Hugo Lloris is adamant that no one at Tottenham is suffering from any lingering effects of a disappointing end to last season or a less-than-stellar Euro 2016.

Tottenham’s goalkeeper was reacting to critics who suggested that the players’ underachievement at this summer’s European Champions would compound with the club’s failing to stay in the Premier League title race late last season to drain on confidence that would be vital ahead of the new season that kicks off against Everton on Saturday.

“People might have expected us to have come back miserable after how we finished the season and how some of us did in the Euros. But the opposite is true,” Lloris is quoted as saying in the Sun.

“All of us could not wait to get back to Tottenham.

“We said last season how fantastic the spirit and the atmosphere was within the club, and that has not changed. It is still the same.

“We are all bonded by one aim — and that is to make this club better step-by-step.”

Lloris reportedly joined many Tottenham fans in expressing alarm that the club could fall of as dramatically as it had in May. Despite coming into the final weeks of the campaign within reach of league leaders (and eventual winners) Leicester City, Mauricio Pochettino’s team were unable to secure a win in their last four games.

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A draw against West Brom preceded a fiery 2-2 result at Stamford Bridge before Tottenham lost to both Southampton and freshly relegated Newcastle.

The following month’s Euros in France proved just as frustrating for virtually all Tottenham players involved. Harry Kane and four of his teammates featured heavily for an England side that failed to get past lowly Iceland in the first stage of the tournament’s knockout round. Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld’s Belgium similarly fell out to upstarts Wales not long afterward.

Lloris himself captained a French team strongly favored to win against Portugal in the final, only to see Crisitano Ronaldo’s outfit earn a thoroughly unlikely victory instead.

As discouraging as those results might have been, there was still plenty of reason to be hopeful. Tottenham finished third in the Premier League and automatically qualified for the Champions League this coming season, a result far exceeding most’s expectations for a team still thought to be in the process of rebuilding.

Tottenham’s players certainly struggled in the Euros, but most solidified their roles in their respective national sides, with players like Eric Dier and Kyle Walker particularly impressing.

Coming into the new season, Tottenham and its players can be confident that they will again be a force to be reckoned with. Pochettino’s retained his best players and added depth to vital positions, with more moves on the transfer market still possible. Last Friday’s 6-1 pre-season friendly rout of Inter suggests that this side has lost none of the gusto that drove them last term.

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“As captain I feel it is my job to help make sure we are all fully prepared for the new season,” Lloris continued.

“It is too early to say whether we are stronger than last season. But the team have more basics than last season and we need to take advantage of that.

“Our aim is to be even better and be even stronger than we were last term.”