Lloris demands more from Tottenham as Europa League quest begins

Tottenham captain Hugo Lloris has called on his team-mates to up their game as they prepare to begin their Europa League campaign on Thursday.

Spurs bagged a first Premier League win of the season on Sunday as they edged past Sunderland 1-0 at the Stadium of Light to follow three consecutive draws and a defeat to Manchester United.

And Lloris is determined to secure three points from their opening group game against Qarabag as they aim to build some momentum.

“I think European competition is always important when you are a player,” the France international said.

“Each game is important and we know tomorrow we need a first win because the next two games are away against very good teams in Anderlecht and Monaco.

“We expect a tough game because European competition is always hard so we need to be focused and have the mentality of winning.

“I expect more from Tottenham and I expect more from me as well. We need to go as far as possible in the competition.

“We know what is expected from the manager and what we have to do. We need to be 100 per cent focused for Tottenham.

“We know it is a trophy to get and you play only to win. There is also a possibility to get to the Champions League if you go to the final and win the final. It is so far away that we are focused on the group stage and the target is to finish first.”

Having claimed earlier this week that he is happy to have spurned interest from Manchester United in favour of staying with Tottenham, Lloris was once again adamant that he has no regrets over continuing with Mauricio Pochettino’s side.

“I am happy with Tottenham. I already replied to that type of question. The only thing I can say is I am happy with Tottenham and will do my best to get the best results possible,” he added.

“I do not talk about my future or my past, I am just focused on the game tomorrow and the Premier League as well. There are a lot of competitions for me to play. I am happy to be at Tottenham and their captain.”