Sunday 26 February 2017 12:50, UK
Sky Sports' Patrick Davison sits down with a tired Toby Alderweireld after Spurs' Europa League exit to discuss his dreams of winning trophies, top-four ambitions, and why Spurs must show fight after recent setbacks...
A football fan can never change teams. In some ways, a football reporter supports a different side every week.
Having been given the job of making a Tottenham feature for this weekend's Nissan Super Sunday match against Stoke on Sky Sports, Spurs have been my team since Monday.
And, having dedicated a lot of my time since then planning an upbeat piece, arranging cameras, finding footage and picking music, I sat nervously watching and hoping they'd make it past Gent in the Europa League on Thursday night.
Ten hours after the game finished I found myself driving to their Enfield training ground, after they had been knocked out of Europe by a team halfway up the Belgian league - a bad night which came complete with a Harry Kane own goal and Dele Alli red card.
All plans out of the window, this suddenly became a more serious interview at a club that - at the time - hadn't yet got defeat out of their system.
After a short morning recovery session, Toby Alderweireld stepped forward to speak.
"I didn't get much sleep," says the slightly weary-looking centre-half. "You know after a game like that when you get to bed you will think about it 100 per cent. I think every player sees the game going over and over in their head."
The defeat means that, suddenly, Spurs find their promising season on something on a knife-edge.
"We have to be ready for Stoke now," says Alderweireld. "No excuses, we have to get three points and go for top four - that's what we want. I think it's important for this young group to get Champions League again and see how far we can go."
Increasingly though, there seems to be a feeling that the time is coming for Mauricio Pochettino's talented, young team to deliver more than top four.
"We want trophies, of course," says the man who has already won four league titles (three with Ajax and another with Atletico Madrid) during his career.
"You need to have dreams and goals in your life, but it's not easy. I think this group is capable of it so we have to work hard to achieve it."
Alderweireld actually made his Spurs debut against Stoke at the start of last season. When he signed he was sold the dream of a club planning to become a Premier League superpower, on and off the pitch.
The dream, he believes, is still inching towards reality.
I think we've improved a lot...and we have to keep doing that. There will be setbacks but we have to fight.
"There was a big plan behind it - a new stadium coming, a very good manager - there was some vibe going on at Tottenham and there is still.
"I think we've improved a lot from a-season-and-a-half ago and we have to keep doing that. There will be setbacks but we have to fight."
It's been a bad week so far, but you can't change your team. And if you were a Spurs fan, right now, you wouldn't want to.
