Moussa Sissoko believes Tottenham’s recent slump is just a blip and insists they can still turn around their Europa League loss to Gent.
Spurs’ 1-0 defeat in Belgium means they have managed only two victories in their last six, having won their previous seven matches in a row.
It is a run that threatens to undermine their whole season given Tottenham face Fulham in the FA Cup on Sunday before the second leg against Gent at Wembley and a Premier League game at home to Stoke.
Three poor results could see Mauricio Pochettino’s men exit both cup competitions and drop out of the top four – but Sissoko is backing Spurs to recover their groove.
“We won seven games in a row so it was a good performance,” Sissoko said.
“Everyone knows how we play and they try to give 100 per cent against Tottenham.
“We saw it against Gent – it was a hard game and they won but like I said it’s only the first battle, we have another one soon so we have to do everything to get through to the next round.
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“Every team we play has a different style but we have a philosophy of how to play. Sometimes it’s working, sometimes it is a little bit harder, like against Gent.
“We still keep going in that way because that is how we work and how we did well in the past. It’s just a bad moment but we will come back stronger.”
Jeremy Perbet scored Gent’s winner at the Ghelamco Arena as an out-of-sorts Tottenham side struggled for their usual energy and creativity.
They will still be favourites to win at Wembley but one away goal there for Gent would leave Pochettino’s men needing to score three to go through.
“It wasn’t an easy game. We knew it wouldn’t be,” Sissoko said.
“They played well, showed some character and fight. They tried to play and build from the back. We tried everything but they were aggressive and compact so it wasn’t easy.
“They scored the first goal and we tried everything for 1-1 but we couldn’t score.
“We lost and we are all disappointed but we play them again next week and we will do everything to win the game.”
Trailing Chelsea by 10 points in the title race, Tottenham’s best hope of winning a trophy this season, and their first since 2008, arguably is in the Europa League.
Only Manchester United and Roma have shorter odds to win the competition and while the FA Cup offers a second opportunity, five of the Premier League’s top six are still in the fifth round.
“Can we still win something? Of course. This team we have a lot of quality,” Sissoko said.
“It’s true, the last game we maybe didn’t play as we did in the past but every season, any team can sometimes have a bad moment. We lost two games in a row.
“We now play Fulham on Sunday in the cup so we need to do everything to win the game, as against Gent.”
Erik Lamela and Danny Rose will miss the match at Craven Cottage with hip and knee injuries respectively but Jan Vertonghen could return.
Vertonghen has recovered from an ankle problem and the plan was for him to train with the team on Saturday. The Belgian, however, is more likely to start the tie on the bench.
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