Tottenham a long way from Europe´s elite – Lloris

Tottenham captain Hugo Lloris claims they feel “very far” from Europe’s elite after their 3-0 defeat at the hands of Borussia Dortmund.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side have enjoyed a superb Premier League campaign and are still in the hunt for a first top-flight title since 1961.

But they stand on the brink of an exit from the Europa League after they were outclassed by the Bundesliga side in the first leg of their last-16 tie.

“After a game like that you feel very far from the top teams in Europe,” Lloris told the Standard. “You can feel regret because it’s the kind of game you want to play and you must be ready to compete.

“At this level, against a team like that, we need more. I want to play more games like these and for that you need to play in the Champions League. After the draw we said: ‘Okay, great’, because it was a Champions League-style game and we knew it would be an interesting game, to learn for next season.

“But after a game like that there was nothing to learn. You just switch off.”

Spurs resume their Premier League campaign with a trip to bottom club Aston Villa on Sunday and Lloris has few concerns that they will be affected by a European hangover.

“I’m not worried about the weekend. I know we’re going to bounce back. It’s vital for all the players who started in Dortmund to recover well, and we will be ready for the game on Sunday, which is maybe the most important.

“I know the quality, skill and mentality of the team. Dortmund was just one game. Of course we can question ourselves a bit but not too much, because the league is very important. We are in a good position and we need to do everything we can to stay in this position.

“Even before we played Dortmund we knew that Sunday’s game was crucial, especially after the defeat against West Ham and the draw with Arsenal. We need to get back to winning ways.”