Toby: “You have to be clever”

Mentality is key for Toby Alderweireld as we prepare to return to Premier League action with a tough London derby against West Ham United on Sunday (4.30pm UK).

Both teams come into the game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in excellent form – we defeated Manchester United 6-1 at Old Trafford in our last game before the international break, while the Hammers won 4-0 at home to Wolves and 3-0 at Leicester in their two most recent top-flight outings.

“They are a good team, a physical team, they’ve had a couple of great results lately and they’re a difficult team to beat,” said Belgian international defender Toby.

“We have to keep going, because things can change quickly in football. If you think, ‘oh yes, we have a good team, we will win’, then things can change quickly, and football has a habit of doing that.

“We have to be on it, always.”

The name Michail Antonio often crops up in any pre-match discussion when we face the Hammers, with the attacker having scored four goals in six Premier League starts against us, and two in West Ham’s opening four games of the season.

“With Antonio, don’t get into a battle,” Toby warned. “Of course, you have to be ready, physically, but you don’t want to fight with him. You have to be clever as a defence and as a team, know his qualities – running in behind, strength – don’t give easy balls to him and always defend the space.

“We have to have quality on the ball. We expect to have the ball, so if you bring quality and be clinical, that will help us out.”