The Premier League club have opted to play their European home games at the 90,000-seater national stadium this season as their White Hart Lane ground has a reduced capacity owing to building work on an adjacent new ground. “We need to pick ourselves up and win the next game”.
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Tottenham can get their Group E campaign back on track when they visit CSKA Moscow on September 27.
But it seemed Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino believes that the small pitch at White Hart Lane, the second-smallest in the Premier League at just 100 x 67 metres, has a negative effect on the sides style of play.
“It’s a shame. Today was a good opportunity to give to our fans a very good performance and victory but it’s a shame that we can not”.
Speaking after the game, Pochettino said: “I think that we all agree that we started well but then we conceded after 15 minutes”. The full-backs will have more space to push into, making the pitch big, giving the creative players more room to pick their passes.
Tottenham may have kickstarted their season away to Stoke at the weekend, but they’ll have had one eye on their huge clash with Monaco on Wednesday night. Football is on the pitch, the grass.
Tottenham striker Harry Kane agrees with Pochettino and claims a strong English core that includes internationals Kyle Walker, Danny Rose, Eric Dier, Dele Alli and himself, can help them settle in the venue where they play for their country. On Wednesday, 85,011 fans flocked to the stadium to watch Spurs take on Monaco in what was the biggest-ever crowd for a home side playing a club match in England.
“When you play for Tottenham, it is hard to accept the way that we conceded the goal today”.
Thomas Lemar struck shortly after and, although Toby Alderweireld’s header halved the deficit shortly before half-time, Monaco’s organised defence withstood the hosts’ second-half pressure, allowing few real chances.
“We need to play with more hunger and passion”.
“It’s only the first game but we need to improve and fast”, he said. “We did enough to win the game, but we didn’t finish the chances”.
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“He’s [Pochettino] nearly ahead of the game, unlike some other new managers that need to implement their style onto a new group of players”, Jenas added.
