Tottenham finally got their first win under new boss Igor Tudor on Wednesday by beating Atletico Madrid in the Champions League, although they lost the last-16 tie on aggregate
Mathys Tel has revealed Tottenham’s players have held clear-the-air talks - and they are now convinced they will beat the drop. Tottenham face Nottingham Forest on Sunday in what has become a huge relegation clash with Spurs just one point above the drop zone.
But Tel says there is a new spirit of determination and fight among the players as they want to prove they are still a “big team” despite their disastrous season. Tottenham are finally showing signs of life after their draw at Liverpool and then the battling 3-2 win over Atletico Madrid.
Despite exiting the Champions League, Spurs did at least enjoy their first win in nine games, it also gave interim boss Igor Tudor his first win since taking charge and it has restored some belief for the rest of the campaign.
When asked what has changed and is the difference, Tel continued: “I think conversation in the dressing room. After every loss we just keep talking to each other and something changed. I would say we are together, we are more and more together.
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“We are talking because maybe before we didn’t speak enough. But now with the situation we talk more, more, more, more, more, and we are more about the details. So, you know, in football details make the difference and now I’m very happy about this difference.
“We’re together. We’re just a team now. A team. And I can feel it. We felt it also against Atletico. So, yeah, keep going. Of course we believe, we believe. We have to believe and we will do it. I believe we will do it. I trust my team-mates, I trust the manager, I trust everybody. If we stick together, if we show that we will do it together, we will do it.”
Tottenham’s Champions League form has been in direct contrast to their domestic results. They qualified automatically for the knockout phase in Europe and yet have not won in the Premier League since December 28.
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It has been hard to fathom and yet the last two games have given Tel hope that they can turn their season around. The Spurs forward says they had a point to prove against Atletico - and showed they are still a force to be reckoned with.
Tel added: “It means that we can be a big team. We can show to every team that it’s not easy to play against us. So, yeah, we showed a big, big, big mentality against Atletico Madrid.
“I would say we’re happy, but we’re still not happy because we didn’t win both games. But the second game was a big performance from us. We showed a great mentality. Something different than the first game.
“So that means a lot for us because it showed that we can play well, we can give everything for the club, for the team. So I would say I’m happy about the performance from the team.
"This is a Champions League game, so when we go to the Premier League game, we have to play with the same energy, the same mindset. Of course. Confidence just going up. Going up. We just need to stick together, stick to the plan and keep working. At the weekend, make sure we are ready for the game.”
Tel says Tudor has given him extra belief while he also paid tribute to the fans for creating the best atmosphere in months as he insisted they will need that again on Sunday.
He added: “I can feel the manager put confidence that was needed before. So we can see on the pitch I have got more confidence, I can create situations. So, yeah, I mean, he gave me some things that I didn’t have before.
“We can do everything on the pitch, but we need plus one. And the plus one is the fans. We need them all the time. So we can do everything, but we need people pushing you every time, every minute. So this is what they did. And we won. Liverpool the same. So I hope we will do the same thing on Sunday.”