Eric Dier says Tottenham are “desperate” to win silverware

Eric Dier returned to Tottenham Hotspur’s midfield yesterday for the first time in what feels like forever as Spurs dispatched Aston Villa in their FA Cup match at White Hart Lane. Afterwards, speaking to the press Dier said that this is a Spurs side that should be winning silverware, and that the entire team is itching to bring home Spurs’ first trophy since the League Cup title in 2008.

“If in five years’ time we hadn’t won a trophy with this squad, everyone would be disappointed. Football is about winning trophies.

“Look at the players we have now and the basis we have to win things. We have to keep working hard and improving but the whole squad is desperate to win things.

“We have a very good group of players, and lots of very good young players coming through the academy who are proving they deserve a chance. Challenging on all fronts is very difficult, but that is our aim. The FA Cup is hard. You play lower-league teams with nothing to lose, they will throw everything at you and in a one-off game, anything can happen.”

Winning silverware is tough. Spurs compete in at most four competitions every season and none of them are easy. The domestic cups in particular are crap-shoots: so much depends on the draw, and especially who and where you play. A club like Spurs could be gifted an easy path to the later rounds by drawing lower-league competition at home, or it could draw Chelsea away in the third round.

Dier isn’t exactly saying anything profound here — all footballers want to bring home silverware for their club — but it’s nice to hear that Spurs players have a goal and that they’re taking the FA Cup seriously, even as they heavily rotate against clubs like Aston Villa.

The draw for the FA Cup Fourth Round will be held today at 7:10 pm London (2:10 pm Eastern)