Anderton: “It’s no surprise to see Hugo break my record”
Darren Anderton saluted Hugo Lloris as he watched our goalkeeper and captain overtake his long-standing record for most Premier League appearances in a Spurs shirt on Sunday.
Legendary former midfielder Darren racked up an incredible 299 Premier League games for us during a 12-year Spurs career between 1992 and 2004, but watched proudly on from the United States as Hugo brought up Premier League game number 300 at Wolves, marking the occasion with some match-winning saves and ultimately a clean sheet as we secured a 1-0 win.
The popular ex-England international had nothing but praise for the French skipper after his landmark achievement.
“I didn’t know about the record until it was brought up in an interview at the Club a few years ago!” smiled Darren. “It’s no surprise to see Hugo beat it - he’s such a good goalkeeper for the Club. There’s always ups and downs with any team but he’s always seemed very happy being at Spurs. He’s a World Cup-winning captain, he’s a legend and Spurs are very fortunate to have him.
“The team that we built a few years ago, Hugo was a massive part of that. We love talking about the youngsters who came through, Kane, Walker, Rose, Dele, Eriksen and all those boys, but Hugo... I think he won us 15 points that season. He was unbelievable. Goalies go through ups and downs and when they do, it’s highlighted, but his consistency has been unbelievable and I think he’s underrated as a goalkeeper - I don’t think he gets mentioned enough as one of the best.
“Obviously he joined in 2012 and it’s very stabling to have a goalie who’s been there that long and someone you can rely on. Apart from a couple of hiccups along the way, he’s been so consistent.”
Did Darren feel a touch of sadness to see his record broken? “Not really, I think I can still hold onto the fact that I’ve got the record for an outfield player!” he laughed.
“I’m very proud of the fact that I achieved that, I’m proud of my loyalty towards Spurs, proud that Spurs wanted me for that long. To hold the record for all that time with 299 games in the Premier League... when I was kicking a ball around the garden as a kid pretending to be Glenn Hoddle, I’m sure I would have taken that!”
