CONTINENTAL DRIVE

Having returned to the fold in recent weeks and enjoying his time back on the pitch, ERIK LAMELA is hoping he can continue to make an impact and play his part in our UEFA Europa League charge.

- Liam Carson

The importance of the Europa League to the squad cannot be understated, Erik Lamela professed.

Despite the demanding nature of the competition, with its lengthy campaign and the considerable travel involved, Erik and his teammates remain very conscious of exactly what rewards are on offer to them, if we can triumph in the tournament come the end of May.

This evening, we will take on the 11th game of our European campaign and our 41st of 2020/21 already but, if we can go all the way in the competition to that May final in Gdansk, Poland, not just a trophy, but a return to Champions League football will be within touching distance.

While of course the players are eager to pick up silverware, to earn their place back in European club football’s elite cup competition is an ambition that the team is just as determined to realise. A perfect run in the Europa League could provide just that.

The squad certainly showed their desire to progress in the competition last Thursday, as we put four past Wolfsberger in Hungary to bring a commanding lead back to north London ahead of tonight’s return leg of our round of 32 tie. Jose Mourinho had said before the game in Budapest that, despite the contest being played over two legs, he wanted the players to take the tie to WAC and win that first leg – especially after we had gone into that fixture on the back of five defeats in our last six outings.