Eric Dier on Ajax, stadium, fitness, West Ham
Sun 28 April 2019, 09:44|Tottenham Hotspur
Eric Dier made his first appearance at the new stadium on Saturday but it was mixed emotions for the midfielder after West Ham became the first team to score and lower our colours at our new home.
Neverthless, results elsewhere mean we remain third in the Premier League after this weekend's fixtures and our destiny stays in our hands with only two league matches remaining.
Naturally disappointed, Eric spoke to Spurs TV afterwards and we broke it down to four subjects - the game against West Ham, his first appearance at the stadium, his fitness after his first 90-minute stint following recent illness and injury and, of course, the first leg of our Champions League semi-final against Ajax back in N17 on Tuesday night (8pm).
Ajax
Eric: "It’s a huge game, a very special game here at the new stadium. It’s a special game for the players, the fans, everyone at the Club. We going to try to forget West Ham now and look forward to that game. We know how important it is and how enjoyable it is to be able to play in a game like that. We also know it’s over two legs and we’ve learned in the Champions League, especially in the last match, that the first leg is just the first half of the tie. It’s such an amazing competition and hopefully we can keep it going. They are a fantastic young side, an exciting side to watch. They play attractive football, lots of good, young players. We know them well now because there are a number of players here who have played for Ajax and because of their fantastic campaign. They deserve to be where they are and we know it’s going to be a very difficult game."
Back home
Eric: "I’m very happy to have played here now. Hopefully it’s the first of many. I hope to push on now and it’s a privilege to play at a stadium like this. It’s not the kind of start I wanted though..."
Fitness
Eric: "I feel very good, if not 100 per cent then very close. It’s just a matter of picking up rhythm now and trying to keep going, to be available for the team as much as possible until the end of the season."
West Ham
Eric: "We created a lot of chances, got into a lot of good positions throughout the game all the way to the end with Vincent’s chance (cleared off the line). We were getting into good positions but then just missing that final pass or final touch, final shot. We conceded a very poor goal and after that, it’s difficult. We know in these types of games that we’ve only got ourselves to blame if it goes this way. If we start quickly and try to get ahead as soon as possible, the game becomes easier but the longer it goes (at 0-0) the more confident they get. We know that. They didn’t cause us too many problems up until their goal but after they scored, it’s a lot better situation for them. We controlled the game for most of the 90 minutes but we couldn’t find the breakthrough."