Academy ready for tough PAOK test in Greece

Standing in the middle of the pitch at PAOK’s historic Toumba Stadium in Thessaloniki just before our Under-19s’ training session on Monday evening, Matt Wells surveyed the scene and declared: “We know what we need to do.”

Our Academy players are in Greece preparing to take on their counterparts from PAOK in the play-off round of the UEFA Youth League on Tuesday, kick-off 7pm local time (5pm in the UK).

Having seen us secure qualification out of our group with a stunning 2-0 win in Barcelona on matchday six in December, coach Matt knows the players have it in their lockers to win in high-pressure situations in Europe.

And he’s called for more of the same as we take on a tough Greek side that’s progressed through the domestic champions pathway of the competition in a one-off tie for a place in the round of 16.

🇬🇷 Our U19s are training at Toumba Stadium in Thessaloniki, Greece, ahead of tomorrow’s @UEFAYouthLeague clash with @PAOK_FC. 💪 #COYS pic.twitter.com/0nFpXqQ9Qh

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) February 18, 2019

“We made the journey earlier today and the mission is the same as before – to produce a good performance and result away from home,” said Matt as the sun set on a warm day at the 29,000-seater stadium.

“We’ve had some really good results so far in this competition on the continent – obviously the last one was probably the stand-out performance against Barcelona with the pressure of going there and knowing we had to win, so to go there and get the 2-0 result and enjoy a great performance was brilliant. Now, given the knockout nature of the competition from here on in, it’s exactly the same situation again.

“In terms of preparation, we’re highly-prepared, we know our opponents, we know their strengths, we know where we can hopefully exploit their weaknesses but most importantly we know what we need to do to impose ourselves on them and hopefully get the result.”

The Toumba Stadium has had some work done to the main stand since our first team battled out a goalless draw there in the Europa League in September, 2011. The other three stands are all open-air, featuring ample seating in black-and-white blocks, reflecting the tenants’ colours. Matt expects the players to rise to the occasion of playing in another unique European environment.

“It’s an incredible experience, one which hopefully the lads are as prepared for as they can be, given the competitions they’ve been exposed to this year, going away to places like Barcelona,” he said. “A number of these players have played a lot of minutes in the Checkatrade Trophy as well in different stadiums in the UK, so it’s these experiences that they need and that they’re hopefully going to face as they progress throughout their careers.”

Follow the action on Tuesday evening with live updates from Thessaloniki on Twitter @SpursOfficial.