Erik Lamela insists domestic cup competitions still matter to Tottenham, despite manager Mauricio Pochettino minimising their importance after yesterday’s FA Cup defeat at Crystal Palace.
Spurs’s 2-0 loss, coupled with their exit on penalties against Chelsea in the League Cup semi-finals last Thursday, means their chances of winning a trophy this season appear remote, with only the Premier League and the Champions League to play for.
Even though Spurs have not won a trophy since the League Cup in 2008, Pochettino — who made seven changes to his starting line-up on Sunday — says winning these competitions serves only to “build your ego”.
But Lamela stressed: “No, we care. We care about every competition. We care about every game. We want to win every time we go on the pitch. At Palace we lost and are out. They scored two in the first half and then it was difficult.
“I think in the second half we played more but it wasn’t to be. It’s another game on Wednesday [against Watford] and we need to be focused on that.”
Lamela has offered to play as a striker to help Spurs through their injury crisis. They have been hit hard, particularly in attack, with both Dele Alli and Harry Kane out.
Heung-min Son has been away with South Korea at the Asian Cup, but he should be back for Wednesday’s match at Wembley now his side are out of the competition.
The difficulties forced Pochettino to select Fernando Llorente to lead the line as Spurs were knocked out of both domestic cup competitions.
After Kane injured his ankle this month, Pochettino named Lamela as someone who could play up front in his absence. And when the Argentine was asked about playing as a striker, he said: “It is true we are missing some players. I do everything for the team always, so if the team needs something, I will do it. The important thing is always the team and if we need something, I have to do it.”
