Hudd sees chance to set the pace

29 September 2010 07:32
Tom Huddlestone has urged Tottenham to seize control of Champions League Group A by beating FC Twente at White Hart Lane on Wednesday night.[LNB] Both of the opening fixtures in the group earlier this month ended in 2-2 draws, meaning Wednesday's game is the perfect chance for Spurs to take an outright lead over their rivals.[LNB]On paper, a meeting with the Dutch champions is the easiest of Tottenham's six Group A clashes and midfielder Huddlestone believes it is the ideal opportunity to lay down a marker.[LNB]The 23-year-old said: "Obviously, Twente and Inter (Milan) drew their first game, so we've got a chance to take the initiative and hopefully be top of the group."[LNB]Failure to take all three points could leave Spurs facing an uphill task to qualify but Huddlestone is wary of dubbing it a must-win game.[LNB]"It's only the second out of six games, so I don't think it's must-win at the minute," he said.[LNB]"But, before the tournament, you looked to probably win your three home games and if you can nick a couple of points away from home, then it's more than likely that you'll qualify."[LNB]Huddlestone could captain Spurs if Ledley King fails to recover from knee and groin injuries.[LNB]And the midfielder believes he is thriving with the extra responsibility of being one of the side's leaders.[LNB]"The manager said recently we are a fairly quiet team," Huddlestone said.[LNB]"Obviously, I'm getting older now and playing more games.[LNB]"I think the confidence comes with that and becoming a leader."[LNB]It would be an historic occasion to wear the armband, with Spurs hosting their first game in the European Cup proper for almost half a century.[LNB]Huddlestone said: "I've played a few European games at the Lane and the atmosphere's always special, and it seems to be raised an extra 15-20% for night games.[LNB]"As we saw for the second leg of the Young Boys game, the atmosphere was very good and it got us through."[LNB]Manager Harry Redknapp is also enjoying the thrills and spills of Champions League football, claiming it was on a different planet to the Europa League.[LNB]"People don't take the Europa League the same as the Champions League, do they?" he said.[LNB]"Everyone wants to get in the Europa League; when they get in, they want to get out of it.[LNB]"Whereas the Champions League is special."[LNB]Redknapp admitted Spurs' Premier League form had suffered as a result of the mental comedown his players had experienced after Champions League games.[LNB]He added: "A lot of it is physical as well.[LNB]"We go to Inter Milan on a Wednesday night, we get back here Thursday, we play Everton 12pm on Saturday.[LNB]"It's not easy, is it?"[LNB]Twente forward Bryan Ruiz has urged his side to "be smart".[LNB]He said: "How can we be smart? Just by keeping the ball, don't let them play, press them when we can, try to score the chances we create.[LNB]"Because in this kind of match sometimes there are not many chances to score.[LNB]"So we have to be good when we have those chances."

Source: Team_Talk