Hugo Lloris knows there is only one way to truly enjoy the north London derby.
Approaching nine years as a Spur, captain since 2014, over 350 appearances under his belt, our number one knows a thing or two about north London pride. And that’s the word - pride.
“First of all, it’s just the taste, to enjoy the derby in the best way is to win it,” said Hugo, who joined us in the summer of 2012. “It’s not necessary to see the table. This is a game about pride, and even more because both teams are not in the place we expected.”
Hugo spoke recently about the need to put a positive run together, and we’re doing just that. Our 2-0 victory over Dinamo Zagreb in the first leg of our UEFA Europa League round of 16 tie on Thursday night made it five wins on the spin in Europe and the Premier League, 15 goals scored, one conceded.
We can see in any training session that players want to play, players want to help the team and that’s good, the mentality is there
“We are in a good moment, but we have to keep our feet on the floor, stay calm, recover well and prepare for the game as best as we can,” reasoned Hugo. “We need everyone ready. The squad is quite complete and we can see in any training session that players want to play, players want to help the team and that’s good, the mentality is there.”
As for next week’s return leg against Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia (18 March, 5.55pm UK), Hugo added: “We could feel on the pitch that they came to get a result, and they will give all their power, all the force in the return. Believe me, it will be tough. Croatia is always difficult. The clean sheet is the key point, and this result puts us in a good position.”