Hugo Lloris remains committed to Tottenham but insists they must do better in Europe this season.
The 28-year-old goalkeeper has been handed the captain’s armband at White Hart Lane after a summer when he was constantly linked with a move away from the club.
Manchester United were believed to be ready to bid for the former Lyon stopper if they lost David De Gea to Real Madrid – but the Spaniard remains at Old Trafford and Lloris told beIN Sport earlier in the week he too was happy to stay put.
Spurs remain in the Europa League, having failed to break into the Premier League’s top four last season, and start their Group J campaign with the visit of Azerbaijan champions Qarabag on Thursday night.
And, even though Lloris is not desperate for Champions League football, the France international wants to see more from the team in continental competition this year with the club having not made the quarter-finals since 2013.
“I think European competition is always important when you are a player,” he said.
“Each game is important and we know tomorrow we need a first win because the next two games are away against very good teams in Anderlecht and Monaco.
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“We expect a tough game because European competition is always hard so we need to be focused and have the mentality of winning.
“I expect more from Tottenham and I expect more from me as well. We need to go as far as possible in the competition.
“We know it is a trophy to get and you play only to win. There is also a possibility to get to the Champions League if you go to the final and win the final. It is so far away that we are focused on the group stage and the target is to finish first.”
Lloris is a relative elder statesman in the Tottenham set-up, with Mauricio Pochettino’s side boasting an average age of 24 in Sunday’s 1-0 victory over Sunderland, but he believes the players around him have benefited from plenty of first-team football at a young age and again said he is pleased to be a part of the squad.
“We know we have a young team but I think they all played last season,” added Lloris.
“We know what is expected from the manager and what we have to do. We need to be 100 per cent focused for Tottenham.
“I am happy with Tottenham. I already replied to that type of question. The only thing I can say is I am happy with Tottenham and will do my best to get the best results possible.
“I do not talk about my future or my past, I am just focused on the game tomorrow and the Premier League as well. There are a lot of competitions for me to play. I am happy to be at Tottenham and their captain.”
Having scored the winning goal in Tottenham’s maiden league victory of the season on Sunday, Ryan Mason will be absent against Qarabag having suffered a knee injury chipping home Erik Lamela’s pass at the Stadium of Light.
He is joined on the sidelines by Christian Eriksen and Mousa Dembele but Pochettino is likely to name a strong team, with Harry Kane in contention to start as he searches for his first Tottenham goal of the season.
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