Tottenham Hotspur have been training on a larger than normal pitch to prepare for Wednesday’s Champions League Group E opener against Monaco at their adopted Wembley Stadium home.
Advertisement
But Tottenham striker Kane believes a strong English core that includes internationals Kyle Walker, Danny Rose, Eric Dier, Dele Alli and himself, can help them instantly settle in the venue where they play for their country.
Tottenham have gotten off to a reasonable start to their new season, winning two and drawing two of their opening four Premier League games, and they will be hoping they can make home advantage count today to claim all three points against their French opponents.
The 2004 finalists encountered similar surroundings upon their return to north London, taking on a Tottenham side playing in front of a crowd of 85,011 – a record for a British club at home in Europe.
“All players, especially good players, love to play in a stadium that is brim full”, Monaco’s Jardim, who likened the win to his side’s 3-1 victory over Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium in the last 16 in 2015, said.
“We need to behave naturally and not try to find an excuse, that’s never good”, said Pochettino, 44. “We need to show a different image”. Everyone knows how iconic Wembley is, but that’s what we’ve got to be careful of.
“We need to show more hunger, we need to show more passion”. Early indications are that the squad will be challenging hard again at the top of the table with Saturday’s 4-0 win away to Stoke City their best performance of the season so far.
“So it works in one sense, but I think 36,000 [supporters] at White Hart Lane nice and close to the pitch would have stood them in better stead for getting results”. We got back in it before half-time with Toby’s goal, but need to be a lot more clinical and finish off our chances. “It’s just ourselves. We knew what to expect, we had tactics, I just think the slow start to the game killed us”.
Advertisement
“We need to be more aggressive in possession, when we have the possibility to score, we need to be more, more aggressive. I like to play at White Hart Lane and I will enjoy playing at Wembley”.
