VIDEO: AVB unhappy with fixture pile up

Tottenham Hotspur embark on another European adventure at White Hart Lane.

Norwegian team Tromso are the opposition after they gained a place in the UEFA Europa League following Besiktas’ exclusion because of domestic match-fixing.

Andre Villas-Boas has warned that his players’ careers could be wrecked because of a fixture pile-up caused by the Football League.

The Football League has decided that Tottenham will play Aston Villa in the third round of the Capital One Cup on Tuesday, just two days after the north London club face Cardiff in the Barclays Premier League.

Given that Spurs play Tromso in the Europa League this Thursday, Villas-Boas’ squad face a hectic period of three games in six days.

AVB told a press conference: “Further than the ambition, now we have the experience of last year. Last year we were trying to change the mentality in some way towards the approach of the competition. This year we don’t need to do that because the players are fully motivated to playing in the competition, they know what it means. They saw the European champions win the Europa League last season and how much they celebrated a win like that. So they know the prestige of the trophy. It’s a trophy that belongs in the history of Tottenham as well. So we have all these ingredients in our advantage to us it in our favour.”

(On Tromso): “They have 24 games already that they’ve played in the league, so physically they are at another level that we are not. Obviously the individual quality is a big difference.”

(On three fixtures in six days): “After this game we have not only the Sunday game but the Tuesday game, which I found as an incredible surprise. How can a game be scheduled after two days immediately – so putting the player’s career at risk and the risk of injuries?”

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