'We believe' - Mauricio

Mauricio Pochettino says belief is key as we prepare for the trip to Aston Villa on Sunday.

The team recovered from the disappointment of Sunday’s home loss against Newcastle to comfortably beat Brighton in the fourth round of the Capital One Cup on Wednesday night – setting up a quickfire return against Newcastle in the quarter-final at the Lane.

Now we travel to Villa Park determined to get back on track in the Premier League.

“It was an important result against Brighton to recover our confidence and belief,” said Mauricio. “We wanted to get into the next round of the Capital One Cup and now we all look forward to Aston Villa.”

Younes Kaboul and the players all spoke of their disappointment after Sunday’s 2-1 reverse – where we controlled the game and led 1-0 at half-time, only to concede after eight seconds of the second half – and Mauricio was pleased with their honesty.

“Yes, we need to be honest,” he said. “We played well for the first 45 minutes against Newcastle but we had a lack of concentration at the beginning of the second half and that changed the game. After that, it was difficult.

“It’s important that the players realise the situation and what we need to improve. It’s always good to be honest.

“Maybe it’s a tough period but the only way to move forward is to work hard every day and believe and I believe in our skill, our way and our philosophy.”