2 hours ago
2
The Tottenham Hotspur midfielder has been speaking to the media ahead of the Champions League match against Borussia Dortmund
Xavi Simons has been speaking ahead of Tottenham's Champions League clash with Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
Spurs will go into the game against the German outfit with head coach Thomas Frank under huge pressure following eight defeats in 14 matches. This match against a Dortmund side that has lost just once in the Bundesliga this season comes at a time when Tottenham have 13 players out through injury, suspension or ineligibility.
Xavi did not train on Monday due to an ankle injury suffered against West Ham, but the 22-year-old will play through the pain against a team he knows well and has enjoyed plenty of success against in recent years while at RB Leipzig.
Our Tottenham correspondent Alasdair Gold was among those putting the questions to Xavi. Here's the full transcript from his press conference at Hotspur Way.
How much do you feel you owe it to the manager to put in a performance, and how much does the uncertainty around him put pressure on you?
At the end, I would say this is the highest level of football, and as we know as a group, we have to stick together. It's not only the coach, it's the whole club, I would say. And that's the most important thing.
In football, we're playing every two or three days. And we have to stick together and to go on, and tomorrow we have another opportunity to win.
There are going to be a lot of young players in this game, you know the likes of Luca Williams-Barnett and Tynan Thompson, can the fans use those kind of players as a way of looking forward to a future at Tottenham?
Yeah, I would say even me, I’m still young, but you can see the younger guys coming up, and in training every day with us, the excitement that they have. Their willing to play the game is immense. But I would say obviously we have to do our job and at the end every one of them coming to the pitch will be no age, no young guys, it will be football. I think they are all ready.
Is this the big moment when it turns around?
Yeah obviously we want to turn this around. Especially playing in the Champions League it’s the biggest stage. Me playing against Dortmund, I’ve played them already in Germany. It’s special but at the same time it’s like every game, every game is a big game for me and the team. We want to pick that moment to bring the three points at home.
You’ve experienced elite environments all over your career so far, what have you made of Spurs?
Yeah, at the end I think it's not fair to compare every club. Every situation is different, every manager is different, every place is different and me I am now here, I am really happy to be here. Obviously this is the situation we’re in and for me at the start, it was not and I was not in the right position or mood, but now I feel really good together with the team and we’re trying to change this.
How's the pain in your ankle?
Yeah, it was a big, big impact, but it's getting better.
You're playing through the pain barrier for this game, how much does that show that you and the players are fighting for this manager?
Yeah, I think everyone wants to win, not only the coach, but the players as well. And we want to change this, especially me. I'm a guy, I'm willing to give everything to win.
And obviously, if I had really, really, really pain, then I wouldn't play. But it's now a situation that I can handle myself as well, even though I have a little bit of pain. But I want to play the game, I want to help the team and to grow into that.
English (US) ·