Tottenham must be better in Europe, says Hugo Lloris

Hugo Lloris says he remains totally committed to Tottenham but expects more from both himself and the club in Europe this season.

The 28-year-old goalkeeper has been handed the captain's armband after a summer when he was linked with a move away from White Hart Lane.

Spurs are in the Europa League this season, having failed to break into the Premier League's top four last term, and start their Group J campaign with the visit of Azerbaijan champions Qarabag on Thursday evening.

And, even though Lloris is not desperate for Champions League football, the France international wants to see more from the team in continental competition this year, with the club having not made the quarter-finals since 2013.

"I think European competition is always important when you are a player," he said. "Each game is important and we know tomorrow we need a first win, because the next two games are away against very good teams in Anderlecht and Monaco.

"We expect a tough game because European competition is always hard so we need to be focused and have the mentality of winning.

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"I expect more from Tottenham and I expect more from me as well. We need to go as far as possible in the competition.

"We know it is a trophy to get and you play only to win. There is also a possibility to get into the Champions League if you win the final. It is so far away that we are focused on the group stage and the target is to finish first."

Lloris is a relative elder statesman in the Tottenham set-up, with Mauricio Pochettino's side boasting an average age of 24 in Sunday's 1-0 victory at Sunderland.

But he believes the players around him have benefited from plenty of first-team football at a young age and said he is pleased to be a part of the squad.

"We know we have a young team but I think they all played last season," he added. "We know what is expected from the manager and what we have to do. We need to be 100 per cent focused for Tottenham.

"I am happy with Tottenham. I already replied to that type of question. The only thing I can say is I am happy with Tottenham and will do my best to get the best results possible.

"I do not talk about my future or my past; I am just focused on the game tomorrow and the Premier League as well. There are a lot of competitions for me to play. I am happy to be at Tottenham and their captain."

Ryan Mason will be absent against Qarabag having suffered a knee injury while scoring the winner at the Stadium of Light.  

He is joined on the sidelines by Christian Eriksen and Mousa Dembele but Pochettino is likely to name a strong team, with Harry Kane in contention to start as he searches for his first Tottenham goal of the season.