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It was a question most assuredly in keeping with the overall craziness of the situation. Tottenham: 14th in the Premier League, with two wins out of 14 some of their fans beginning to fret about relegation. Also out of both domestic cups. Tottenham: the fourth best team in Europe after the conclusion of the league phase of the Champions League. On a fast-track to the last 16.
So, of course, it was put to João Palhinha as he left the stadium after Spurs’s convincing 2-0 win at Eintracht Frankfurt on Wednesday night. Can Spurs win the Champions League? The midfielder’s response was to chuckle. And then laugh a little more. “I know what you want to hear from me,” he said.
The Spurs support already call themselves “the champions of Europe” after their Europa League triumph last season. That had come out of the ashes of a disastrous Premier League campaign. Could history be about to repeat itself on an even grander scale?
Palhinha was never going to offer any cheap headlines. “It’s not about winning the Champions League,” he said. “In life, it needs to be with steps. The main thing is we did our qualification responsibly with a lot of respect and we deserve to complete this qualification. The focus right now will be on the Premier League.”
The 30-year-old wanted respect for his hustle and that of his teammates. The Spurs manager, Thomas Frank, had been able to call on only 11 established outfield players against Eintracht in the face of an injury and eligibility crisis. Palhinha filled in at right centre-half as Frank stuck with his 3-4-2-1 system and the performance was energetic and controlled, heavy on front-footed menace.
What Palhinha and everybody connected to Spurs really want is for it to be the platform for better form in the league: a turning point. Perhaps – and he did not say this – there can be a truce between the fans and Frank because the current state of affairs is dragging the club down, the one in which unhappiness with him and his methods bubbles furiously beneath the surface. And does not take much to erupt.
The road ahead is rocky. Spurs face Manchester City at home on Sunday before a trip to Manchester United. Then come home games against Newcastle and Arsenal. Spurs, though, have beaten City this season – in August when Palhinha scored in a 2-0 win. He would bring that up unprompted. It was the real Spurs, he agreed, and it has to make a return.
“It’s the Tottenham that we all wish … to beat top teams,” Palhinha said. “We are all happy with the Champions League performance; we knew we were capable to do it with our draw. But we have many things to do in the Premier League. We need to take this victory [over Frankfurt] 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 motivation is always high when you play these kind of games [against City]. We know the reality of where we are in the table and we definitely need to change this, because it’s not the image of Tottenham that we want.”
Palhinha was asked whether he could explain the difference between Spurs’ domestic and European form. “It’s a lot of things,” he said. “Of course, the injuries don’t help the team. But the responsibility is mainly with the players because we should do much better in some key moments.
“We conceded some goals that we couldn’t concede. Since Brentford [the 0-0 on New Year’s Day], we lost some important points that would have put us in a different position. We miss sometimes the details. Some losses that we had were about the details.”
Palhinha would labour the point about the players taking responsibility. It cannot be about Frank taking all of the flak. “We are with all the hands together,” he said. “The responsibility is not on the coach. Of course, he will receive it because of results. We know how it is in football. Sometimes it’s not easy to be a coach. But the responsibility is also from the players and some things need to improve.”
