Spurs goalkeeper looks ahead to Sunday’s match with Chelsea and is confident Tottenham can do well at Wembley this season

Tottenham Hotspur captain Hugo Lloris has downplayed the effect of Danny Rose’s controversial interview in a national newspaper last week.

Rose – who has been in the treatment room with a knee problem since January - voiced his frustrations about Spurs’ wage structure and stressed his desire for well-known signings days before the opening game of the season at Newcastle United.

It has been suggested that his feelings are representative of similar views in the dressing room.

But, after he issued an apology on Friday, manager Mauricio Pochettino declared the matter closed – and Lloris is adamant there was precious little fall-out within the squad when speaking after Tottenham’s 2-0 win at St James’ Park.

“I think it’s important, one thing, because we heard a lot of things - the team is very quiet about that,” said the captain.

“Danny made a mistake, he apologised and we move on. That’s it. But the team was never affected about that because we were so focused on our first Premier League game.

“We know from outside if you start to listen, inside the squad you can be affected, but the most important thing is to stick together, be focused and have the same ambition.

“Danny is part of the team. We understand his frustration. It’s now been six or seven months that he’s been out of the team with an injury. We hope he’s going to be back as soon as possible.

“We stayed calm. We’re still in touch with Danny and there’s no problem. If people from outside want to make trouble, it doesn’t affect us because we are a good squad with a good mind.

“Sometimes you can make mistakes. The thing is you don’t have to repeat this kind of thing, and the most important thing is that the leaders of this team are not affected. We’re moving on and we showed it yesterday - the commitment is great inside the squad.”

Vice-captain Harry Kane also shrugged off the incident, saying: “It’s been put to one side. Danny said what he said. We’ve all moved on from it.

“From our point of view we’re strong, we’re all Tottenham players, we’re here for a reason and that’s to play for the club. That’s what we’ve got to do – just focus on the pitch. That’s all that matters. It wasn’t really a big thing at the training ground to be honest.

“We’ve been focused on the game and we know that, whatever happens off the field, what’s most important is what happens on the field in front of our fans.

“We had great support [at Newcastle], as we always do. That’s all it comes down to – playing on that pitch and winning those games.”

Spurs face Chelsea next at Wembley on Sunday and their captain believes they are improving at the national arena.

Lloris is confident they can put together a strong run of home form under the arch this season – starting against the champions.

Spurs lost three of their five matches at the national arena last term - including their FA Cup semi-final against Antonio Conte’s Blues – and even their draw against Gent was tantamount to a loss as it ended their European campaign.

The Lilywhites are therefore facing a challenge as they prepare to play all of their home games at Wembley this season, but Lloris believes the problems they have had in Brent are now behind them.

“I think it belongs to the past,” he said. “We had a few bad performances in the Champions League - against Monaco, against Bayer Leverkusen - but it was an experience.

“We had some great performances there too, even if the results were not the best, like in the Europa League [against Gent] when we had 10 men against 11 - we dominated the game and the space on this big pitch.

“It was the case against Chelsea when we lost 4-2 in our FA Cup semi-final, and it was the case against Juventus – one of the best teams in Europe.

“Step by step we need to build a real confidence at Wembley, create our own atmosphere with our fans and try to be connected with them.

“It’s up to us, we are the actors. We’re going to try to put intensity in our performance - in our runs, our passing and our movement - and try to create something at Wembley.

“It will be a big game, a massive game. I think we need to get it in the right way, to start our first official game at Wembley.

“You play against Chelsea, the champions. It’s a great challenge for us and we will try to do our best, challenge this team and get the best result possible.”

The Blues will be missing Eden Hazard, Gary Cahill and Cesc Fabregas due to injury and suspension.

But Lloris said: “They have such talent in their squad, they can miss one or two players. They have the talent to replace them.

“The most important thing is to work well all of the week and be ready for a big fight and for this big game, because it’s a good opportunity already for the second game of the Premier League.”

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