Eric Dier has claimed that the Tottenham Hotspur squad have not yet given up hopes of qualifying for Europe next season.
Tottenham’s 3-1 defeat to Sheffield United on Thursday and the subsequent victories for Chelsea and Manchester United mean that the Lilywhites now find themselves 12 points off fourth spot and 10 points off fifth.
Even if a fifth-place finish does end up providing a route into the Champions League, it would take an astonishing turn around for the club to make up a ten-point deficit over the course of six games.
Dier admitted that the Premier League table does not lie and that Champions League qualification will be difficult but he vowed that the players would keep fighting for it.
He also revealed that Spurs were keen on making the Europa League in case a Champions League spot is beyond them.
The 26-year-old told Sky Sports’ Soccer Sunday: “If it’s a Champions League place or the Europa League, we’ll see.
“The League table does not lie. So we know Champions League will be a very difficult task but obviously, we’re going to try everything we can to accomplish that.
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“But if not, we have to be in the Europa League place and we will do everything to do that. We want to and need to be playing European football.”
Spurs Web Opinion
I think it is fair to say that most Spurs fans would probably prefer to miss out on European football altogether rather than have the distraction of the Europa League. However, that is certainly not the way Mourinho will be looking at things. He will consider the Europa League as a competition that he can potentially win, handing Spurs a route back into the Champions League.
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