“We are a big club” – Tottenham player says top 8 is objective, but wants European football

Tottenham Hotspur will this season play in the Europa League, after missing out on Europe for a year.

Spurs had to settle for domestic competitions during the last campaign, and finished fifth in the league. This saw them qualify for the second-tier European competition.

Guglielmo Vicario has told Sky Italia, relayed by Gianluca Di Marzio, that it was difficult for Tottenham without European football.

The 27-year-old arrived at the north London club from Empoli in June 2023 and replaced Hugo Lloris as Spurs’ first-choice stopper. He kept eight clean sheets and conceded 62 goals from 40 matches for Tottenham in his debut season.

Vicario has a clean sheet from five games this season, conceding five goals in the process. The Italy international has discussed his side’s ambitions for the 2024/25 season.

“We like to play every three days, that’s what we wanted. Last season, we were without Europe and for a club like ours it was difficult in terms of ambitions,” he said.

“Away games take away a lot of energy, you have to be good at recovering mentally and be ready to get back into the game right away.

“We are a big club, it’s normal that we play to win matches. Getting into the top eight in the Premier League is an objective, even if it’s difficult because there are so many strong teams to face, so it will be a sporting battle.”

Spurs missed out on European football last season, after finishing eighth the season before that. Despite insisting finishing in the top eight is an objective, the stopper still wants his side to qualify for Europe.

Ange Postecoglou’s side are now 10th in the table with seven points, trailing fifth placed Chelsea by three points.

Vicario’s performances for the Premier League helped him make his debut for Italy in March.