The Tottenham Hotspur striker suggested that losing to West Ham United could turn out to be a good thing.
Tottenham ace Fernando Llorente spoke to reporters ahead of his side’s Champions League clash with Ajax tomorrow night, and suggested that losing to West Ham on Saturday might just have been the wake-up call that they needed, as quoted by the Telegraph.
Spurs sit in third spot in the Premier League table, two clear of fourth placed Chelsea, and another two in front of fifth placed Arsenal, and they will need to win one of their last two Premier League games in order to guarantee Champions League football for the fourth consecutive campaign.
Aside from that, Tottenham have a tricky Champions League tie against Ajax to navigate, and they will be without Harry Kane and Heung-Min Soon for the first-leg tomorrow.
Llorente will likely fill in up front, and the Spaniard told reporters how they cannot afford to perform against the Dutch side like they did in the Premier League against West Ham on Saturday, as quoted by the Telegraph:
“This kind of game doesn’t need to be prepared for because the mentality of all the players will be different to what it was against West Ham. But if we play like that against Ajax, then for sure we will lose.”
He was then asked whether the defeat to the Hammers could end up being a wake-up call:
“Maybe it’s better, no? It’s right, we need to wake up because if we play like this on Tuesday, then we lose easy.”
Whoever plays for Tottenham tomorrow night will have to be on their very best form, as they welcome an in-form Ajax side to north London.
And Llorente has a real chance to prove to Mauricio Pochettino that he is worthy of a contract extension in the summer.
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