Dier hopes to captain Spurs one day

Eric Dier hopes to be full-time Tottenham captain one day after leading his team to a 2-0 victory over Aston Villa and into the FA Cup fourth round.

Mauricio Pochettino made nine changes from the side that stunned Chelsea last Wednesday, but Ben Davies’ header and a late strike from Son Heung-min were enough to seal Spurs’ progress at White Hart Lane.

Dier and Toby Alderweireld were the only players to retain their starting places, with Dier handed the armband in the absence of regular skipper Hugo Lloris and the Frenchman’s stand-in Harry Kane.

Dier has been earmarked as a potential Spurs captain of the future for his confident personality and commanding style of play, and it is a responsibility the 22-year-old would relish.

“Would I like to be club captain? I hope so, maybe one day,” Dier said. “We have some fantastic captains here at the moment but I’m still young”

“Hopefully one day maybe I will get that honour but I am focused on playing for Tottenham, nothing else.

“I like to think leadership comes naturally. It doesn’t affect me. When I was younger, going through age groups at Sporting (Lisbon), I was captain and I was captain before – it’s not something new to me.

“But I’m not the man to tell you if I’m a good captain or not. Other people are.”

Tottenham’s triumph over Villa was comfortable in the end but a weakened Spurs side struggled for the same rhythm that has seen them now win six matches in a row.

It remains to be seen how seriously Pochettino takes the FA Cup, with Tottenham looking again to qualify for the Champions League and challenge for the Premier League title. They must also negotiate the Europa League, which restarts next month.

Dier admits, however, it would be a disappointment if this current Spurs crop failed to convert their talent into silverware.

“Football is about winning trophies,” Dier said.

“If you ask us later on in life and we hadn’t won a trophy with the squad we have now, the players we’ve got and the basis we have to do that… if in five years’ time that hadn’t happened, everyone would be disappointed.

“We’ve got to keep working hard and improving as there is still a lot we can work on before we reach that level and the whole squad is desperate to win trophies.”

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