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Rome: Lazio coach Vladimir Petkovic says his in-form team can still improve as they prepare for Thursday’s Europa League opener at Tottenham Hotspur.
Lazio got off to a perfect start this season, winning all five of their games in Serie A and the Europa League qualifiers. However, they face perhaps their toughest test yet against a Tottenham side returning to Europe’s second competition after a debut season in the Champions League.
“We’ve improved a lot,” Petkovic said. “But there are still margins for progress and that pleases me. I don’t doubt that the lads will keep their feet on the ground. We’ll let the fans have the pleasure of praising the team, but we have to think about Thursday’s game.
“We’ve got our confidence back and every positive result boosts that and we want to continue like this.”
Tottenham are finding their feet under new coach Andre Villas Boas and picked up the first win of the season against Reading on Sunday, following two draws and a defeat.
“They’re a very solid squad, very strong and they have got their confidence back in time for the Europa League,” Petkovic said. “After the victory against Reading, they have started to believe in Villas Boas.
“They’ll come at us full blast and we have to be ready. I’m not scared, we have to continue to grow and go there to win the game. However, we have to be aware that we will suffer at times and we have to be able to withstand that.”
After finally getting that first win of the season, Spurs will be full of confidence and eager to push on. “It was massively important to get that win,” striker Gareth Bale said.
(Agencies)
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