The Spurs Blog

Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov stared for Tottenham Hotspur as we came from a goal behind to defeat Club Brugge 3-1 in the UEFA Cup.

Berbatov scored two goals and set up a third for team-mate Robbie Keane as we made two from two in the group stages of the competition.

Tottenham Hotspur star Dimitar Berbatov was given a standing ovation from the Besiktas fans following his performance in the UEFA Cup.

Manager Martin Jol said: “To be applauded off the pitch by them is a mark of respect for my team — the Besiktas fans are terrific.“Dimitar showed real flashes of his quality and I thought we could have had more goals.“They just kept on singing their songs. It was wonderful to hear.

“Was that our best performance of the season? We played well in Prague against Slavia but yes that was better than that.

“Robbie Keane had three or four chances to score but the ball just wouldn’t run for him again.

“What was on our minds is no English team has lost here against Besiktas and we didn’t want to be the first.

“Overall we were just too strong for them even though I had to make a last-minute change and play Tom Huddlestone when Didier Zokora went down ill.

“When I was selecting my team I had one eye on the Sunday game against West Ham but I just had to play my best team tonight and it paid off.”

Besiktas boss Jean Tigana added: “We came up against a very good Tottenham team. They were strong and focused. Spurs were better than us — it was as simple as that.

“They showed a terrific attitude out here. Berbatov was terrific. He was very difficult for us to handle and he gave my centre-halves a tough time.

“When you have a player of his quality in your team it makes all the difference.”

“When we went ahead through Hossam Ghaly, I thought we would silence the crowd but I know now that it is impossible. 

Tottenham defender Michael Dawson says the club must aim for a Champions League this season.

He said: “I think we have got to be realistic and make sure we are in the Uefa Cup spot again,”
 
“It would be nice to go one better and make it into the Champions League, but there are a lot of good teams out there and we know it is going to be a tough test.”

“We have maybe not scored as many goals as we would have liked, but with the strikers we have got we will always score goals,” added Dawson.

“It was nice to get two last week and hopefully they will start flooding in now.”

Spurs manager Martin Jol has expressed his satisfaction with the 1-0 victory his team achieved away at Slavia Prague in their opening fixture in the Uefa Cup.

Jol said: “It was the best result you could wish for, 1-0 away from home.

“It was a good goal - Jenas can do that, he can score goals and that is what you want in away games in Europe.

“To get a result is great.”

Martin Jol has admitted that Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov is still struggling with his groin injury and will more than likely miss the UEFA CUP fixture this week.

He said: “Berbatov still has a minor problem with his groin and he will do a test. But we still have 19 players with us so we will field our strongest team.

“Hossam Ghaly has got a groin injury so he stayed in London and Danny Murphy has a little calf problem, so he stayed at home as well.”

Great News - All Spurs fans will be thrilled to hear that the injury to star winger Aaron Lennon is not as bad as first thought.

The elusive England international could make a shock return to the starting line up for Spurs UEFA Cup tie against Slavia Prague tomorrow after a scan revealed his knee injury was only minor.