Gent vs Tottenham Hotspur - Gent are not afraid of Tottenham - 7M sport

Gent vs Tottenham Hotspur - Gent are not afraid of Tottenham



Posted Thursday, February 16, 2017 by PA

Gent boss Hein Vanhaezebrouck insists his side are not afraid of Tottenham ahead of their Europa League last-32 first leg on Thursday night.

Gent sit eighth in First Division A and adrift of the play-offs, where they need to finish to have a chance of securing Europa League qualification again.

Vanhaezebrouck's side showed signs of a return to form when they beat league leaders Club Brugge two weeks ago but then lost 1-0 at home to relegation battlers Eupen on Saturday.

"We are Gent and we are not afraid of anybody," he said.

"The game will be very difficult. We play against not only a team from the Premier League which is already an impressive league but secondly a team that is fighting to win the Premier League.

"They did maybe not the best thing losing to Liverpool but that can happen.

"It's a team that plays very good football and has a lot of quality in every line. It will be a very hard task for us."

Tottenham are looking to bounce back from a damaging defeat of their own to Liverpool on Saturday.

The 2-0 loss leaves Spurs 10 points behind leaders Chelsea in the Premier League table and almost certainly relying on the cup competitions if they want to win a trophy this season.

Mauricio Pochettino said he has taken a soft approach with his disappointed players, who want the chance to put right their miserable display at Anfield.

"I tried to give love," Pochettino said. "We all felt disappointed that they suffered a lot.

"Sometimes, when your performance is not good and that game touched your pride, you don't need to kill them. The first man to kill is myself because I am responsible."

Pochettino added: "What happened against Liverpool, all the players want the chance to play again and try and change the feeling.

"But we'll see. Maybe we will make some changes, but not too many."

Danny Rose and Erik Lamela are still out with knee and hip injuries respectively while Jan Vertonghen is close to overcoming an ankle problem, but has also stayed at home.



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