Tottenham Hotspur

Gylfi Sigurdsson: 'Europa League run did not hamper top-four hopes'

By Joe Fish, Reporter | 21 May 2013

Sigurdsson: 'EL run didn't hamper top-four hopes'

Icelandic midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson insists that Tottenham's run to the quarter-finals of the Europa League did not hamper their quest to finish in the top four.

Gylfi Sigurdsson has insisted that Tottenham Hotspur's progress in the Europa League was not a factor behind their failure to qualify for the Champions League.

Spurs were pipped to a top-four finish in the Premier League by Arsenal, who beat Newcastle United on the final day of the season to close the campaign a single point ahead of their fierce rivals.

The Lillywhites dropped crucial points in home games against Everton and Fulham the weekend following matches in the Europa League, a competition that Spurs reached the quarter-finals of under former winner Andre Villas-Boas.

However, midfielder Sigurdsson, who made 11 appearances in the tournament for Tottenham this term, has denied claims that their European exploits hampered their attempts to finish in the top four.

"We tried to win that cup and everyone enjoyed playing in it," he said. "Up until Basel we were quite good and we thought it might happen. After the Lyon game, when we scored late on. We had a feeling it could be our year but that's the way it is.

"[The margins] are very small. Obviously if we had won one game which we drew we would have been in the Champions League but that's life. That's what happens when you are at the top.

"The margins are small. You just need more consistency, we were very good and then lost a bit of form and that's what killed us."

Sigurdsson joined Spurs from German outfit Hoffenheim for £6.8m last summer.