Eriksen still dreaming of Champions League

Tottenham face an uphill task in their bid to reach the UEFA Champions League next season but midfielder Christian Eriksen remains hopeful.

Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham have nine games to erase a six-point deficit after last week’s 3-0 loss to Manchester United at Old Trafford dented their Premier League top-four hopes.

But Eriksen insists the feat is not impossible heading into Saturday’s match against cellar-dwelling Leicester City, pointing to his successful spell at Ajax, where his first two Eredivisie titles in 2010-11 and 2011-12 came after the Amsterdam club rallied from behind to finish top.

“For the first two seasons at Ajax, we played average for the first six months but in the last six months we played really well and that’s where we got the points – at the end,” Eriksen told The Mirror.

“We had a gap. It was hard, but it is possible. I see it as nine finals. It’s not really a knockout phase but it’s a phase where there is a lot to win and a lot to lose.”

Tottenham have not featured in the Champions League since 2010-11 and should that drought continue, Eriksen would not be reluctant to compete in the UEFA Europa League for another season.

“I would rather be in one of them than not playing.” the Denmark international said. “One hundred percent.

“Why? Because there is a chance you could win the Europa League and go into the Champions League [the next season]! Also, you get the chance to show what you can do somewhere else, instead of just against teams in the Premier League.

“You see differences when you play against an Italian team. They play differently. A Spanish team: they play differently. So you learn a few things. It is good for everyone in their careers to play as many games as possible and not just in their domestic League.”