Re: Capital One Cup 4th Round draw: Norwich (A)
Spurs players have one eye on Wembley, admits assistant Freund
Tottenham assistant boss Steffen Freund feels the club's players may already be starting to think about Wembley after their 3-0 Capital One Cup third-round victory at Carlisle.
Spurs saw off their spirited npower League One opponents at Brunton Park thanks to goals from Jan Vertonghen, Andros Townsend and Gylfi Sigurdsson.
They now face a trip to Norwich in the last 16, the draw for which was missing eight of their fellow Barclays Premier League sides - including Emirates Marketing Project and Everton - and has paired Chelsea with Manchester United.
Freund played in the Tottenham team that won the League Cup in 1999 and believes making the final is something that could now be on the current squad's minds.
'I know eight Premier League sides are already out, and there are only two games and then we are in the semi-final,' Freund said.
'I can remember 1999 when I won the League Cup - it is special to go to Wembley and I think the players will start to think about that now.'
The Tottenham first XI showed eight changes from their 2-1 league victory over QPR on Sunday, with the likes of Adam Smith, Yago Falque and Ryan Mason getting some first-team experience and Tom Huddlestone and Michael Dawson being given a run-out, the latter for the first time since Andre Villas-Boas was appointed Spurs boss over the summer.
Vertonghen and Sigurdsson, two summer signings, opened their accounts for the clubs with their headed goals in the 37th and 89th minutes respectively, either side of a decent solo effort in the 53rd minute from 21-year-old winger Townsend, who drove forward before shooting low.
Overall, Freund thought there were plenty of positives to take from the game.
'We brought a few young players in and we believe in them all,' Freund said.
'Adam Smith was fantastic at right-back and Ryan Mason has been scoring in the development squad, so we knew he can play. Then in the centre of midfield Tom Huddlestone is back after his injury, Michael Dawson is back.
'There are young players coming through which is nice to see, and it is especially nice to know that we have someone (Townsend) behind Gareth Bale who can jump in and create something.
'Don't forget, we have several injured players and still had a fantastic, strong team on the pitch today.
'We deserved to win in the end and it was difficult for Carlisle to create chances.
'That's why I'm really happy, as is the whole of the coaching staff.'
One notable absentee from the squad was another new recruit, Hugo Lloris.
The France international goalkeeper has only played one Europa League game since his move from Lyon and with Carlo Cudicini starting, Heurelho Gomes named as back-up on the bench and Brad Friedel still seemingly very much in charge of the No 1 jersey at Tottenham, the debate about Spurs' stoppers shows little sign of easing up.
Asked about Lloris and his potential involvement in the matches to come, Freund said: 'I think at the moment we are just going from game to game.
'It is not the right moment to talk about individual players because we had a fantastic performance as a team today.
'Let's see tomorrow who is available for (Saturday's league clash with) Manchester United.'
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Just beaten Carlisle but we are already getting over confident ! Let's hope AVB can make them keep their feet on the ground !