Tottenham ‘too young’ to thrive in the Champions League, according to William Gallas
Ex-Spurs man says Mauricio Pochettino's squad lacks the experience to compete in Europe's elite competition
TOTTENHAM are 'too young' to thrive in the Champions League, according to William Gallas.
The former Spurs defender, 39, spent three years at White Hart Lane, but admitted they're still not at the required level to compete in Europe's elite competition.
Mauricio Pochettino's men enjoyed a superb 2016-17 season in the Premier League, pushing Chelsea all the way in the race for the title.
However, they crashed out in the group stage of the Champions League - which Gallas says is no surprise.
The former France defender reckons the squad are too youthful and lack the experience required to go all the way in Europe.
Gallas said: “It was a big shame what happened to them last season but this Tottenham squad is a little too young for the Champions League.
“Against Monaco and Bayer Leverkusen in the group games, it showed that they needed more experience.
“The Champions League is different to the Premier League. You need experience, you need to be more clever and stay focused.
“If you compare our squad back then with now, we had many older and more experienced players.
“Hopefully, they will have learned from last season’s experience - and be better for it.”
Last season in the Champions League, Tottenham mustered just two wins from their six group games, against Bayer Leverkusen, Monaco and CSKA Moscow.
They were then knocked out in the last-32 of the Europa League to Belgian side Gent.