Thu 30 September 2021, 14:00
Tottenham HotspurNuno Espirito Santo gives full respect to Slovenian champions NS Mura ahead of our UEFA Europa Conference League clash this evening (8pm).
Formed in 2013, intially playing in Slovenia's fourth tier in 2013/4, the team from Murska Sobota in the Pannonia Plain quickly progressed through the divisions to lift the Slovenian PrvaLiga title for the first time last season, toppling the big two in the country, Maribor and Olimpija, to take the top prize.
That meant entry into Champions League qualifying for the first time this season, and their European journey began back in July. They’ve faced familiar opposition to us as well, initially beating KF Shkendija (North Macedonia) before losing to Ludogorets (Bulgaria) in the second qualifying round - both opponents of ours in the Europa League last season.
NS Mura then beat FK Zalgiris Vilnius (Lithuania) in the third qualifying round of the Europa League before succumbing to Sturm Graz (Austria) in the play-offs, and therefore entering the Europa Conference League.
“We give them respect,” said Nuno. “We face a tough team, a team that plays good football, but like I’ve said, now is the time more than ever to focus on ourselves, to be the team we want to be, solid, dominant, score, press, react. There are many things that we have to do, and we have the chance to do that.”
As reported yesterday, Nuno emphasised the need for the players to react after Sunday’s derby defeat. “As you can imagine, it’s not good feeling this way, like we are feeling now, like our fans are feeling now, it’s not good. But the difference between us and our fans is that we can change it. We can change it and it's up to us to change it.
“To win we have to play better, to compete better and sticking together is the only way through it.”
