Lloris happy he stayed at Tottenham

Hugo Lloris feels his decision to stay at Tottenham has been vindicated by the team's progress under manager Mauricio Pochettino.

Lloris joined Spurs from Lyon in 2012, but considered leaving the club at the end of the 2013-14 season after two seasons of upheaval under Andre Villas-Boas and Tim Sherwood.

But new boss Pochettino convinced the France goalkeeper to stay at White Hart Lane, and the North London club have gone from strength to strength since then, with a fifth-place Premier League finish in 2014-15, third in 2015-16 and second place last year.

And Lloris was particularly pleased with Tuesday's Champions League 1-1 draw with Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu, after the disappointment of last season's group-stage exit. 

"Does it justify my decision? Yes, from the first moment I believed in Pochettino, and that's it," the France captain, 30, said.

"I don't need that [result] to say 'yes, I was right at the time'. It was just my feeling when I met him.

"Now, I just enjoy the football we play. Sometimes in football, you live great moments, and you live some sad moments.

"But there is a great potential in the squad, a great project in our club, and I am looking forward to seeing this development. I try my best to help the team and the club to develop too."

Tottenham sit level with European champions Real Madrid on seven points in Group H after three games, six ahead of Borussia Dortmund and Apoel Nicosia at the halfway stage.

Spurs failed to qualify for the Champions League for five seasons between 2012 and 2016, and failed to qualify for the last 16 last year from group that also included Monaco, CSKA Moscow and Bayer Leverkusen.

And Lloris says this year's performances in Europe show how much the squad are progressing under Pochettino.

"This is what I said to them, to my team-mates: 'Don't forget that three years ago we were still in the Europa League'," Lloris continued.

"Last season we discovered as a team the Champions League but we were very disappointed with the performances that we had.

"I think we built a strong confidence from the start of this competition, with a good win against Dortmund, we confirmed that win in Nicosia, and you can see Dortmund drew [there] so it's not an easy place."

You can watch all of Tottenham’s Champions League campaign on the eir Sport package. Mauricio Pochettino’s side face Apoel, Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid in Group H.  Their next match against European champions Real Madrid at the Wembley on Wednesday, 1 November is live on the eir Sport platform [kick off 7.45pm] 

Image: Getty/Laurence Griffiths

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