Sterling eyeing early victory in Premier League International Cup tonight

Kazaiah Sterling has underlined the importance of making a winning start to our Premier League International Cup campaign against West Ham tonight (Thursday 31 August).

Our Development Squad are back in action in the competition at Stevenage, the site of impressive victories over Schalke and Porto when we last took part two years ago.

Villarreal and Benfica join us in Group F this time around, but we get started against familiar opponents in the Hammers, who came back from 2-0 down to beat us 3-2 in the Premier League 2 just 10 days ago.

“We started off well last time against West Ham but we let the lead slip,” said striker Kazaiah, looking ahead to the 7pm kick-off.

“This time we need to go for them, but make sure we keep it up throughout the game. That’s something we’ve been talking about, making sure our hard work is consistent and not just for one half of the game. We’ve been working on learning how to win and see out games better.

“It’s really important to get off to a good start in these cup competitions as well, especially because it’s hard to play catch-up. It’s better to get your points early on.

“I didn’t play in the International Cup last time (two years ago) but I remember the games quite well. It’s different to when you play in a league environment – it’s more tense in the cup so I think we’ve got to be clever. Obviously it’s a cup competition but at this stage you’re getting points in the group as well, so you’ve got to be smart with how you’re playing. You’ve got to play it like a cup game.”

Stevenage proved to be a happy hunting ground for Kazaiah last season and the young forward is keen to continue that, starting tonight.

“I’m looking to keep that up this season because we’re going to be playing quite a few games there,” he added. “I think it’s a good ground. It makes the environment a bit more tense, more realistic, like a first team fixture in a way, which is great experience for us all.”

Tickets will be available at the Lamex Stadium tonight, priced at £5 for adults and £2 for concessions. Alternatively, follow us on Twitter @SpursOfficial for live updates.