As club captain, Hugo Lloris has garnered a huge amount of respect amongst fans and players alike during his time at Tottenham, while serving as a consistent spokesman for the club.
Speaking ahead of Saturday’s emphatic 4-1 opening day win against Southampton, Lloris was optimistic about the club’s summer transfer business and a return to the Champions League, but reinforced the need to make a strong start to the season.
Throughout his time at Spurs, Lloris has seen many a transfer window of all different shapes and sizes, including 2018 when not a single signing was made, but the Frenchman has been vocal in his praise for Conte and Paratici’s work in recent weeks.
Lloris said (Spurs PLAY): “I believe that the help of the new signings is going to add even more quality to the team – players like Ivan (Perisic), like Richy (Richarlison) or Clement (Lenglet). They’re going to bring their experience.
“They are all international players and they all are full of talent, so we have a great mix inside the training room, between experience and young talented players. Also, we have great leaders.”
For a serial winner like Conte, the presence of Perisic, Richarlison, and Lenglet as established, senior international players cannot be undervalued, as they should help to instil some grit, determination, and a winning mentality within the rest of the squad.
Ahead of the Premier League’s return last weekend, Lloris also discussed the need to start well, hoping to yield the rewards of a tough pre-season campaign that saw Spurs face the K-League Allstars, Sevilla, Rangers, and Roma.
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“New season is always exciting obviously, because you are full of hopes, but I believe that what we did the last few months, the work we did, is going to help us to start well the new season.
“We already have a structure into the team and we’re working quite well, so that’s very important, for now, and for the future. Now we just have to be focused on starting the season with this.”
Leading the team, Lloris helped Spurs to a strong start, coming from behind to beat Southampton by four goals to one ahead of next weekend’s trip to Chelsea.
Lloris continued to share his optimism around Spurs, with the Frenchman looking forward to the return Champions League at N17 as he welcomed Europe’s elite sides to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
He added: “From now until the World Cup, we need to go with more than 100%. Then we’re going to start to play every three/four days from September until November with the Champions League back, in the Tottenham Stadium, so it’s also an excitement to be involved in the competition. It will help us to get even more experience.
“It’s a competition that all football players want to be involved and we want to share again, the same emotion that we have in the past, with our fans. We want to compete and face the best teams in Europe and for sure it will help us develop ourselves again.”
But, the Frenchman is aware of the demands this long season will bring, especially with the inaugural winter World Cup, as competing across several competitions is likely to be taxing on the squad.
He said: “As I said before, we have to be sure that everyone is ready to help the team – for 20 minutes, half an hour, 20 minutes, 90 minutes, five minutes, one minute.
“It’s this spirit that we want to get from the changing room, this togetherness that will help us to be even more competitive.”
“The only thing that we can do is make everything possible on the side, to prepare ourselves in the best way, to make sure we’re all ready to compete.
“Not only 11, 12, 13 players but 25 players who just need to go and deliver the best and follow the plan of the manager.”
Having been part of a Spurs side who have challenged for the league, made a Carabao Cup final, and even reached the Champions League final, Lloris knows the effects of a long season, but everyone must be ready to feature as and when Conte deems it necessary.
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From a fan’s perspective, Lloris’ optimism is inherently pleasing. Conte has clearly made good use of pre-season, both physically and mentally preparing the players for the season ahead.
There seems to be a togetherness about the squad that has previously been missing, and a genuine belief that under Conte, this is a group of players who can achieve genuine success.
Of course, we can only hope Lloris’ attitude and mentality transpires to the rest of the squad, and they harness this confidence to put together a strong start to the season and establish ourselves as one of the continent’s elite sides.
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