Hugo Lloris admits Tottenham lack confidence against the big boys as they prepare to the face of Arsenal

The goalkeeper who has been outwitted throughout the afternoon by a child with a pack of cards is discussing tricks of the mind. He hopes they might just stop the Premier League’s bigger kids from bullying Tottenham so mercilessly.

‘Confidence’ is Hugo Lloris’s buzzword, a term he often comes back to when discussing Tottenham’s status and where they want to be.

That destination is the Champions League. It was the missed target that cost Tim Sherwood his job despite his ‘great’ work last season; it might cost the club Lloris next summer if they fail again to reach the top four.

Hugo Lloris has been superb for Tottenham since joining in 2012 but the club has struggled in that periodRead more......................

Spurs' mediocre start to the season got worse on Sunday with a 1-0 home defeat against West Brom 

But that little step is also a major psychological leap, a progression that requires Spurs to displace one of the clubs that routinely slaps them around. They play Arsenal tomorrow, having taken one point from nine games against Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal in the past year. 

In those extraordinary games, overseen by three managers, they have scored twice and conceded 30.

When asked if points must now count double for Spurs in games against their top-four rivals, Lloris replies: ‘Yes. But we are in the Premier League and it is the most difficult league to win in the world. There are five, six, seven top clubs which are able to win, or are at the same level as the champions in France, Italy, Germany.’

Pochettino: We are ambitious but we are focused on the derby

Lloris says his team-mates must overcome the mental block that sometimes affects them in the big games

Last month Spurs were battered 3-0 at home against Liverpool.

Manager Mauricio Pochettino responded with an angry debrief and an analysis session that saw him re-watch the tape 20 times. ‘What happened in the changing room stays in there,’ says Lloris in a lounge at White Hart Lane. He has been warmly hosting young survivors of brain tumours as part of the NHS’s Get to Know Cancer campaign, one of whom has been tricking him with cards.

Lloris’s poker face slips as he says: ‘Of course, when you get bad results the manager’s job is to say the truth to the players.’

Liverpool comprehensively beat Tottenham 3-0 at White Hart Lane earlier in the season 

The cold truth, in Lloris’s mind, is that not enough of Pochettino’s squad have the mindset of winners. Their challenge, he says, is to change that psyche while assimilating new players and a new manager and also meeting the club’s targets.

‘I think we need time,’ Lloris says. 

‘We are trying to go that way. I think it is important that there is confidence between players and manager and staff and we are still learning and trying to improve.

‘I am sure we will be ready in a few months. But it is strange to say we will be ready in a few months because we need to get points very quickly because the season has started and we have ambition and we need the most points possible.

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The French keeper has been impressed with new manager Mauricio Pochettino who took over this summer

‘When you go into a club, the first thing (you find) is tradition. This is the difference between the top clubs in Europe and Tottenham. They are used to winning so when you are a new player in that club, in the changing room there are a lot of players who won a lot of titles. For that, we need to start with one trophy.

‘It (confidence) happens when you win and in the big games you win as well. But there is not only a league between top teams — you can lose points everywhere.’

There was too much of that last season, as Tottenham went from finishing fifth in 2012-13 — one point behind fourth-placed Arsenal — to sixth in 2013-14, 10 points behind Arsene Wenger’s side.

Lloris says: ‘It was a difficult season. For me it was the first time a manager was sacked during the season.

‘Tim Sherwood did a great job. It was not easy for him, but he did it with passion for the club and he did well because you don’t have time to put your project (in place). The season had started (when he came in for Andre Villas Boas) and you have to find the right solution.’

Spurs lost three times to North London rivals Arsenal last season, and they face them again on Saturday 

The solution for Tottenham was Pochettino. 

Lloris — the 27-year-old son of a Monte Carlo banker and whose late mother was a lawyer — was growing up in France when he first heard of the man who now manages him ‘I watched him playing for PSG and Bordeaux, and for Argentina in the 2002 World Cup,’ he says. 

‘In PSG he was captain, at Bordeaux too. He is a leader.

‘He has this attitude every day. He is a young manager but he doesn’t show it. He is very clear in his speaking. He has a presence and a proper concept of football. He has a philosophy.

‘The atmosphere is great. We are hungry, we want to improve, and we want to get better. We are just at the beginning. We have a lot to improve and show it as a team. But I think we can see the progress.’

Perhaps, but as yet results have been modest. Lloris signed a five-year deal in July, but as one of the best goalkeepers in the world he will again be a target next summer if Tottenham can’t meet their target and, therefore, fail to give him Champions League football.

Lloris said Tim Sherwood did a 'great' job last season, but it was not enough to get Spurs into the top four

Asked if his future is dependent on that, he says: ‘I don’t know. I’m not thinking about that. I am just focused on my work and the club and I hope we can have a good reward at the end of the season. But nobody knows about the future of the club. Of course, it is a big motivation to be back in the Champions League with Tottenham.’

A win over Arsenal and the setting of a new trend against the division’s bully boys will help greatly.

*Hugo Lloris was speaking as part of Tottenham’s ongoing support for the Get to know cancer campaign, that aims to raise awareness of cancer and promote early diagnosis amongst the club’s fans. This month, the focus is on raising awareness of brain tumours amongst young people, working in partnership with HeadSmart.

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