Dier: We want to win trophies

Eric Dier says it would be a major disappointment if Tottenham’s current squad are unable to secure a piece of silverware during their time together.

Spurs lie third in the Premier League table and their victories over Manchester City and Chelsea this season have suggested they are capable of challenging for the title for the second successive campaign.

The Lilywhites also made their second appearance in the Champions League in 2016 – yet the club’s last trophy came back in 2008, when they lifted the League Cup.

That is something Dier wants to change, having helped Spurs to progress into the fourth round of the FA Cup on Sunday with a 2-0 home win over Aston Villa.

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“Every game we play we want to win, no matter the competition or opponent, which means winning something at the end of it,” said the 22-year-old. “That’s our aim no matter what team is out there.

“Football is about winning trophies. If you ask us later on in life and we hadn’t won a trophy with the squad we have now, with the players we’ve got and the basis we have to do that… If in five years’ time [that hadn’t happened] everyone would be disappointed.

“We’ve got to keep working hard and improving as there is still a lot we can work on before we reach that level, and the whole squad is desperate to win trophies.

“The FA Cup is difficult, with knockout ties against lower-league teams with nothing to lose. They will throw everything at you and in a one-off game anything can happen. But that’s our aim – to stay in every competition as long as possible and fight on all fronts.

“We’ve got a very good squad with lots of very good young players as well coming through the academy, getting a chance and proving they deserve one. It only helps us. We have competition for places and everyone is ready whenever needed.”

Dier skippered Tottenham against Villa at White Hart Lane yesterday, and he admits he would like to be the club captain in the future.

“I hope so, maybe one day,” he said. “We have some fantastic captains here at the moment but I’m still young. Hopefully one day maybe I will get that honour, but I’m focused on playing for Tottenham, nothing else.

“I like to think leadership comes naturally to me, it doesn’t affect me. When I was younger going through age groups at Sporting Lisbon I was captain, it’s not something new to me. But I’m not the man to tell you if I’m a good captain or not – other people are.”

Dier initially joined Tottenham in the summer of 2014 to play as a defender, but he moved into a central midfield role last season and flourished, to the extent that he started all of England’s Euro 2016 matches in that position.

Since then, an injury to Toby Alderweireld and Pochettino’s increasing fondness for playing with three centre-backs has meant Dier has spent much of his time in defence – but he moved back into the midfield against Villa at the weekend.

“I enjoy the challenge of playing in different positions and learning different positions,” he said. “It’s something that will definitely help me in the future and something I’ve spoken about with the manager.

“It’s something that will be very good for me going forward. I’m happy to be playing, no matter where it is.”

Dier was replaced in the rearguard by teenage centre-back Cameron Carter-Vickers, who made his third outing of the season after previously getting the nod for Spurs’ two League Cup ties.

The 19-year-old was deployed on the right side of the back three, next to Toby Alderweireld, and he is grateful to be getting opportunities to learn from the imperious Belgian.

“He’s very vocal out there, he helps me a lot,” said Carter-Vickers. “You can learn from [watching] him as well. I look at the things he does and try to do them too.

“I’m just trying to play as much as I can, work hard in training, and when opportunities like this come up I’ve got to be ready for them. It was another good experience for me but the important thing was that we won and we’re through to the next round.”

(Ham & High)

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