Dele Alli challenges Tottenham to create history in new stadium
Written by News on 29/03/2019
Dele Alli has challenged his Tottenham team-mates to “create history” after an awe-inspiring first visit to the club’s new stadium.
Spurs’ first team will finally get the chance to play at the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the first time on April 3 against Crystal Palace, as long as Sunday’s second test event passes without incident.
Alli gave Sky Sports reporter Patrick Davison a guided tour around the £1billion, 62,062-seat stadium, a venue the England international believes elevates Spurs as a club and lays the foundations for success.
“It still has the same feeling of when I was playing at White Hart Lane,” Alli said. “It’s amazing and we’re all very excited, we’ve been waiting for this for a long time. It’s finally come.
“There were a lot of memories at White Hart Lane, hopefully we can make some better ones here. You never know what is going to happen in football, but we definitely feel the club is heading [in the right direction].
“We’re getting better as a team and we have to keep doing that. We’ve got some great young players and an amazing manager. We’re all enjoying playing together and we want to try and create history.”
Spurs were on the coattails Manchester City and Liverpool last month but three defeats in four brought their title challenge to an end and dragged them into the battle to finish in the top four.
Alli believes Tottenham’s long-awaited return home could give the club a timely boost as they look to end the season on a high.
“We’ve had a few tough games and results, so maybe a change is what we needed at this point of the season,” he added.
“It’s a difficult point of the season, every game is massive, and you’ve got to get as many points as you can. Hopefully we can make a positive end in this stadium.”
From the 65-metre Goal Line Bar, which features state of the art beer dispensers, to the 17,500-capacity ‘Kop’ style South Stand, the bespoke features of Tottenham’s new home have left rival fans envious, and Alli inspired.
“It’s great for the fans, all the facilities and bars, that’s a great touch,” the 22-year-old said.
“The changing room is a big plus, we will spend a lot of time in there and hopefully there will be a lot of great memories in there and out on the field.
“This stand behind the goal [the South Stand], I can’t wait to see that full and hopefully score in front of it.
“It would be an amazing feeling [to score a vital goal in front of that], but I’ll prefer to be 3-0 at half-time in the Palace game, put on a show for the fans.
“It’s going to be a difficult game, they are a top side so I’m sure that won’t be the case. If we back ourselves and hopefully we can get the win for the fans.”
(c) Sky News 2019: Dele Alli challenges Tottenham to create history in new stadium
