Tottenham begin their attempt to go one better than last season in the Champions League and manager Mauricio Pochettino says they want to put the pain of their final defeat to Liverpool behind them.
The runners-up start their group stage campaign in Greece against Olympiakos this evening with Spurs keen to make a better start than in 2019 when they picked up just one point in their first three games.
“Being honest, I was thinking a lot during the summer. To finish that way in the final is always so painful,” said Pochettino ahead of the game in the Athens.
“You can’t put out the feeling of losing the last game of the season. You have to wait to repair the damage, but that will be a massive challenge.
“No-one today will have us as one of the contenders to be in the final in Istanbul but that is normal. If we are contenders or not, because we went to the final and have a possibility to fight for this title, I don’t care.
“We know to repeat the same campaign we need to play at our best. That makes it very exciting.”
Tottenham's captain Hugo Lloris has also stressed the importance of making a positive start in a group which also includes Bayern Munich and Red Star Belgrade.
"In any competition, it is important to start well. Last season was very difficult for us to come back in the group stage but we did it in a fantastic way and the last campaign was fantastic in terms of emotion.
“Obviously it is always painful when you lose that type of game, the final of a major trophy, it hurts. But that belongs to the past now and we cannot change the past.
“We just need to be focused and ready to compete again and use the last few years’ experience to get better and be strong again.”
