Kieran Trippier and Moussa Sissoko were disappointed with Tottenham's slow start in their 1-0 first-leg semi-final loss to Ajax but both players believe their team-mates have the quality and mentality to go all the way in the Champions League.
The Dutch outfit were sharp in the early stages of the match, playing high-tempo passing football which bore fruit in the form of Donny van de Beek finding the net after just 15 minutes at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The hosts, without main goal threats Son Heung-min and Harry Kane through suspension and injury, respectively, fought hard for an equaliser in the second half but ultimately came up short.
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Trippier acknowledged that he and his team-mates could have done better from the off, but feels that Son's return for the second leg will provide an added boost as the Lilywhites attempt to fight back and reach the final of Europe's premier club competition.
“It was a difficult first 20, 25 minutes,” Trippier told Sky Sports. “We just couldn't close them down as we like to, the pressing that we do week in, week out.
“I thought we gradually got into the game and kept on pushing. We did everything to try and equalise in the second half. It's only 1-0, we go to their place next week and hopefully we can get a performance.
“Obviously Sonny (Son Heung-min) and H (Harry Kane) are massive players for us, especially with the attacking outlet that they've got – Sonny running in behind and Harry's goals, but we always believe as a team that the players coming in can step up.
“Fernando [Llorente] has scored crucial goals and Lucas [Moura] has been fantastic for us but Sonny's back for the next leg and we'll go out there and give everything we've got.
“Of course we still believe we can win the Champions League, we all believe, we have belief in the squad. Next Wednesday we'll go there with nothing to lose and try to score as many goals as we can like we did at Man City. Anything can happen.”
Sissoko came off the bench in the first half to replace Jan Vertonghen, who took a knock to the head, and gave a positive account of himself despite his side coming up short on home soil.
The Frenchman, however, also pointed to Son's quality as a plus in Spurs' upcoming comeback mission.
“[We put in] a lot of crosses but we didn't equalise, so we are disappointed to lose the first game,” Sissoko said. “But it is not over.
“We know the quality that Son has, we know what he adds to this team. It will be great to have him back and hopefully he can score some goals because he's scored a lot this year.
“But with him or without him we'll go there [to Amsterdam] with the same mentality and try to come back with qualification. We want to go to the final – it would be something amazing for all of us.
“One more game to play. It won't be easy but, all together, I am sure we can do it.”
