Watch Man Utd vs Tottenham on Sky Sports Premier League from 5pm on Saturday; kick-off at 5.30pm
Saturday 12 March 2022 17:45, UK
"It's only been four months under the new manager, we're still looking for consistency and improvement. We know there's potential there."
Calmness is a commodity of great value around the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium right now. Not just from a fanbase already weary from a couple of tumultuous seasons on and off the pitch, but also within a squad who have swung from one extreme to another with four wins and as many defeats from their last eight games.
The last of those was a 5-0 thumping of Everton on Monday night, Spurs' biggest win of the campaign but arguably some way from their finest performance. That tag is reserved for the 3-2 win at Manchester City two weeks earlier, when Harry Kane's 95th-minute winner sent Antonio Conte into delirium on the sidelines.
It was a different story five days later, when a 1-0 defeat at Burnley left him questioning whether he was the right man for the job at all.
Hugo Lloris is no stranger to ups and downs in north London and has provided some of the most emotional interviews we have seen from Tottenham players during his decade with the club. But, sat in the comfortable surroundings of The Lodge at the club's training ground after that Everton win, the goalkeeper has a very different take on how they turn their rollercoaster season into a Champions League berth.
"It's important to stay calm in any circumstances, even if I can understand at some moments there could be some frustration," he tells Sky Sports.
"When you feel you can reach a level and in the next game you drop from that, it can be really frustrating but we are looking for consistency - the repetition of games, the repetition of results will help to improve confidence, but the quality is there, no doubt.
"When we have more days to prepare games, we feel more comfortable. That's an aspect we can improve in the future, but the potential is here - we know that. In football, you can lose confidence easily, that's probably what happened during the last month.
"When you want to take something on, in the short term, or medium term, it's difficult after three or four months to see a real impact. Even if we can see and feel the improvement, some great managers have arrived in the Premier League and taken one year, two years to get the best from the players and team.
"There has been a lot of inconsistency, and we've lost too many games. Beating Everton was a great answer to that, collectively in front of our fans, especially after the two defeats we had at home."
It was after the Manchester City game that Conte said his Tottenham squad was one of the best he had ever worked with, high praise from a man who has led Juventus, Chelsea and Inter Milan to league titles in years gone by.
Lloris gave a hint of what he may have meant after that Everton battering, when he led a slightly sheepish Dele Alli over to the home support to finally say the goodbyes he was never able to say when he joined Everton in January after five-and-a-half years in north London.
The Frenchman was captain - a role you can see he takes seriously - for that entire spell and had little thought about making sure he got the farewell that 269 appearances and 67 goals deserved.
"It was something really simple," he says. "I was driven by my instinct, the crowd were singing for Dele and he had almost left the field.
"I grabbed his arm and brought him towards the South Stand. In football you go from one club to another, you don't have time to say goodbye - Dele has a lot of respect for Tottenham, and we have a lot of respect for him, the fans too.
"He did a lot for us, and spent six years here, he had some great moments and gave a lot to the club. I thought it was the best way to close the chapter for him. He will be welcome at the club and it was good to see him on Monday night, we wish him the best and he's a top person. I hope he'll get to his best level soon."
Manchester United, live on Sky Sports, are next up for Spurs, a direct rival in the top-four race and another team whose season has been characterised by inconsistency as much as quality.
Lloris has fine memories of recent visits to Old Trafford, having seen his team-mates storm to 3-0 and 6-1 wins in the last three seasons.
Even so, he remains wary of the wounded animal that could await Spurs in the north west, after United's derby humbling against Manchester City last weekend.
He says: "Even if Manchester United lost their last game in the derby, they have many top players looking to play in the Champions League next season and they'll be ready to compete, and ready to fight. It's a big game for them too.
"The game is about three points, because after that there will be plenty of games left in the race for the top four, and when you face another challenger it's important to respond."
Can Spurs make it, and return to the Champions League after a two-year absence? "We're close to the final sprint, and it's time to get the best from each other, with personality and finish the season strongly," says Lloris. Words of a captain indeed.
Watch Man Utd vs Tottenham on Sky Sports Premier League from 5pm on Saturday; kick-off at 5.30pm
