Those Tottenham Hotspur fans already imagining beyond AC Milan have been urged not to take victory for granted tomorrow.
Spurs have one eye firmly on a place in the Champions League quarter-finals, but Luka Modric joined Harry Redknapp, his manager in urging respect for the Italian league leaders, who trail to Peter Crouch’s goal at San Siro in the first leg of their round-of-16 tie.
With bitterness simmering from a first leg that saw Vedran Corluka carried off on a stretcher after a two-footed lunge from Mathieu Flamini and Gennaro Gattuso, the Milan captain, banned for four games for a head-butt on Joe Jordan, the Spurs first-team coach, Milan raised the temperature by accusing Tottenham of possessing only Crouch’s aerial threat.
The Italians will attempt to unnerve their less experienced European rivals, but Modric warned that his team-mates must avoid being drawn into confrontation and not think beyond the game.
“We have a big advantage, but this is far from over and we can’t underestimate Milan and think it’s finished,” Modric said. “They are a great side and we need to stay focused and prepare like we did in Milan. We have showed how good we are and that we can handle the big teams, but beating them was something special.
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“One of the reasons why we are playing so good in the Champions League is because we are so excited to play here and we want to enjoy it while it’s going good. We have great belief and if we continue to play like that we can achieve a lot.”
The Croatia player believes that Tottenham are on a par with Arsenal and primed to finish in the top four in the Barclays Premier League, despite the two dropped points away to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday. “We are better than Manchester City now but we need to qualify for the Champions League a couple of times in a row to match what the big teams do,” Modric said.
Robinho, the Milan forward, is confident of victory if they can stop the service to Crouch.
“Spurs play in a different way, focusing on physical strength, plenty of crosses into the box, especially because they have a very tall player in Peter Crouch,” the Brazil player said. “They will play exactly the same way again. But I am convinced we can win.” Massimiliano Allegri, the Milan coach, said: “Despite Tottenham playing good football, they are not among the best teams in Europe.”