Erik Lamela: Tottenham can beat anybody and reach the Champions League

Lamela is in confident mood ahead a trip to the Toon after scoring his first hat-trick for Spurs

ERIK LAMELA hardly batted an eyelid at the prospect of facing lowly Newcastle this Sunday afternoon - and no wonder.

 

After celebrating his first hat-trick for Spurs against Monaco last week the on-fire Argentinian signalled that he is well and truly over the stuttering start he made to his White Hart Lane career and is ready, willing and able to take on allcomers.

Lamela would be the first to admit that he laboured for a while under the club record price tag Spurs pinned on him after paying Roma around £30million for his services.

But now, following some tlc - and tough training sessions - with his fellow Argentinian coach Mauricio Pochettino, the winger once labelled the new Lionel Messi is starting to look the part.

 

And after three stunning first half strikes that sent Monaco crashing out of the Europe League he delivered a prediction that will hardly make Newcastle feel anymore confident despite beating Liverpool last weekend.

According to Lamela he and his Tottenham teammates can literally beat ANYONE on their day.

He says: "I am very confident about the squad and the team we have at the moment. When we are playing at our top form we can take on anyone. We are equal to any team in the league."

With that in mind Lamela has set his sights on nothing less than a top four finish at least this season.

 

"If at the end of the season we can look back and see Spurs in the top four that would be a great personal achievement and it would prove that the team has done a great job as well," he added.

If that isn't warning enough, Newcastle coach Steve McClaren will feel even more trepidation if he glances at the opposite subs' bench and sees a striker Pochettino predicts will be the latest Spurs academy starlet to take the Premier League by storm.

With Harry Kane given a rest last week to keep him fresh to face Newcastle 18-year-old Josh Onomah got the chance to showcase what his coach describes as "an unbelievable and great talent." The lad didn't disappoint.

Pochettino said: "He is a special boy, a special player. He has talent, potential, power and quality in his feet. I don't know how he will develop.

 

"Sometimes you get an instinct about a player. Football is always about input and feeling and sometimes you don't know why but you think this guy can be a top player. I think we have a lot of talent here."

Enough, in fact, to consider giving young Onomah a Premier League start over the holiday period and take some of the pressure off Kane in the process.

Pochettino added: "We have a strong squad so it was the right decision to keep Kane fresh for the game against Newcastle.

"Maybe we will have to rest him during the Christmas games, but we have to be focused on the next game. You just don't know what will happen in the next couple of weeks." add