13 September 2007, by Sean Gillen

Rocha confident Tottenham “family” will enjoy rosy future

Portuguese defender plays down poor start to season

Tottenham Hotspur defender Ricardo Rocha insists that his team have the character to recover from their poor start to the new Premiership season.

The London club began the new campaign with high hopes of claiming a Champions League spot, but just one win from their opening five games has seen the mood at White Hart Lane change.

A 1-0 defeat to Sunderland on the opening day was followed by a 3-1 home defeat against Everton. A brief upturn in fortunes in the shape of a 4-0 victory over Derby County was followed by more disappointment, however, as Spurs then lost 1-0 at Manchester United and threw away a two-goal lead to draw 3-3 at Fulham.

“I think we began the Premier League badly and didn’t play well,” admits Rocha, who moved to England in January from Benfica.

“We were unlucky in the final minute of the first game though, when we suffered a late goal and lost, while in the second game we lost an early goal, got back and then let in two more. We did our best until the end of the game in trying to recover, but Everton defended well and it was not possible.

“Against Derby everybody was very concentrated because the win was so important to us. We managed a big game and won 4-0. Then we went to Man United, played well and were unlucky again. We had chances, penalty claims and then they scored a goal through the young Portuguese lad. I think we deserved more, but that’s football.

“Fulham was a crazy game and we should have won by four, five or six goals. I think we have shown that we are a good team with top players, but we must do much better.

“We are suffering goals, but everyone can see they are unfortunate goals and not the fault of this guy or that guy. It can happen to any team.

“We are doing well as a team and that is the most important thing, the pressure is always on us, but we are all together and we will do fine in the future.

“Our confidence is always high, we are a family all together and that is important because you always want the best things for your family. The best feeling is winning and going forward - that is what we want.”