Jermaine Jenas believes Spurs should have no fear as they travel to the Bernabeu on Tuesday night.
Tottenham midfielder reckons all the pressure is on Spanish giants
Jermaine Jenas believes Tottenham should have no fear as they travel to the Bernabeu on Tuesday night.
Spurs continue their European adventure with a trip to Real Madrid for the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.
The Spanish hosts have won the competition more times than any other club while Tottenham are Champions League novices, with this their debut campaign.
But Harry Redknapp's men have shown they can mix it with Europe's big guns, knocking out seven-time winners AC Milan in the previous round, so Jenas sees no reason why they can not claim another scalp in the last eight.
"We can't wait," the midfielder told the
Daily Telegraph. "We are so excited but also we are focused and we believe.
Underdogs
"The pressure is on them. We are the underdogs. We have nothing to lose but, as players, we know how we feel."
Tottenham's campaign got off to a nightmare start as they were 3-0 down inside 30 minutes at Young Boys but they recovered to reach the group stage.
Jenas admitted Spurs began to believe they could make an impact in the competition as they took an early 2-0 lead in their first group game before Gareth Bale scored a memorable hat-trick in the 4-3 defeat at holders Inter Milan, while Tottenham also came from behind to win 3-2 at derby rivals Arsenal in the Premier League.
"First half away to Werder Bremen, we took them to the cleaners," he said. "We didn't win the game (2-2) but, from that moment, we looked at each other and said, 'we can go through here'.
"Still, at that point, we didn't dream of playing at the Bernabeu in the quarter-finals. The 'nearly' comeback against Inter Milan was another big moment.
Belief
"We started doing things that people just did not see happening. We went to Milan and were 4-0 down and got three goals back with 10 men. We then went to Emirates. We were 2-0 down and won 3-2. When things like that happen, it generates belief and that's what we have."
Tottenham's current European campaign may still be alive but thoughts have already turned to next season, with Spurs battling to ensure they remain in the Champions League.
Manchester City and Chelsea are in the final Champions League places at present and Jenas admits it is crucial to the club's plans that Spurs claim another top-four finish.
"Come the end of the season, we won't be happy if we are not fourth, which shows how far Harry has brought us," he added.
"The players they are probably looking to bring in next year, the players they want to keep, it's all probably on us finishing in those Champions League positions. We have got to do that."
