The Tottenham midfielder has been speaking about the Champions League last 16 qualification and his under-pressure manager
Joao Palhinha believes Tottenham must show "a new face" if they are to take the momentum of their Champions League run into the Premier League and relieve the pressure on Thomas Frank.
Spurs secured their spot in the last 16 of Europe's top tier competition with their 2-0 win in Frankfurt on Wednesday. That meant they finished fourth in the big Champions League table, above the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid, last year's winners PSG, Juventus, Inter Milan and fellow Premier League sides Chelsea, Manchester City and Newcastle.
That also secured a huge cash windfall of roughly £43million and now Tottenham will take on one of Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Club Brugge or Galatasaray in the round of 16 in March.
Yet that European progress comes at the same time as Frank faces major pressure over his future at the club with Spurs 14th in the Premier League and out of both domestic cup competitions. On Sunday, the north London outfit welcome Manchester City to kick off a run of games against Pep Guardiola's side, Manchester United, Newcastle and their local rivals Arsenal.
Spurs beat City 2-0 under Frank at the Etihad Stadium back in August and one of the goalscorers that day, midfielder Palhinha, believes it's time for the club to show a new side.
"That's the Tottenham we all wish [for], to beat top teams," he said. "We need to take this victory and this important qualification to give a big jump in everything that has passed in the last couple of months and start a new face, hopefully."
The Portugal international believes the players must take responsibility for the stark contrast between Tottenham's continental and domestic form.
"It's a lot of things. Of course the injuries don’t help the team but the responsibility is mainly with the players, in my opinion, because we should do much better in some key moments," said the 30-year-old.
"We conceded some goals we shouldn’t concede in important games. Since Brentford, we lost some important points that for me would have put us in a different position in the table right now. But it’s football. The main thing is to try to, with this game and this qualification, make something different from right now.
“Don’t think don’t too much on the past but look more for the future and what we want to do. We have top players, top staff as well. We all want to change the momentum in the Premier League."
Palhinha, on loan from Bayern Munich, admits things have been tough on Frank and that life is not easy on managers.
"We are with all our hands together. The responsibility is not with the coach, although of course the coach will receive all the responsibility because of results. We know how it is in football," he said.
“Sometimes it’s not easy to be a coach, but the responsibility is also from the players and some things need to improve. The main thing is we recognise where we need to be better and as a top club, this pressure would come and we knew that."
When asked whether Spurs could go all the way and win the Champions League, the experienced midfielder was far too wily and laughed before saying: "It’s not about winning the Champions League. I think in life it needs to be with steps. I know what you want to hear from me!
"But the main thing is we did our qualification responsibly with a lot of respect and we deserve to complete this qualification. Now let’s see who we find in the next round. The focus right now will be on the Premier League and then after we will have a look again to the Champions League."
Palhinha was asked whether there is a psychological barrier for the Tottenham players in the Premier League after two seasons of toil in the competition.
"We had some games that we won, especially in the first weeks against City. We had some really good games, but I think we miss sometimes the details. If we have a look, some losses that we had I think were about the details," he said.
"The team always gives everything we have. It’s really important on that face, I know that for supporters it’s not easy to digest the position in the table. I know it’s frustrating for them but also for us. We need to keep the hands all together and try to change the momentum on Sunday against City."
So will Tottenham's ability on the break and requirement to raise themselves and focus for big games help in this coming quartet of tough fixtures?
"Let’s see. I think we will have this answer in the next few games!" said Palhinha. "Of course the motivation is always high when you play these kind of games.
“But we know the reality of where we are in the table and we definitely need to change this because it’s not the image from Tottenham, definitely. It’s not the position in the table that everyone wants to be. We will try to do everything we can to change it."