Harambee Stars captain Victor Wanyama trains with the national team at the Kasarani Stadium on November 11, 2016. PHOTO/Raymond Makhaya
NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 12- Harambee Stars captain and Tottenham Hotspur midfield enforcer Victor Wanyama is confident the club can overturn their UEFA Champions League fortunes in the next two matches and qualify for the knock out stages.
Wanyama hasn’t quite enjoyed the kind of return he hoped for in the Champions League with his new North London club, with the side being placed third in Group E behind leaders AS Monaco and Bayer Leverkusen.
Of particular concern to their performance has been their poor home record, having lost both their matches at their adopted home turf at Wembley against Leverkusen and Monaco.
Spurs were forced to play their Champions League home matches at the National Stadium due to construction work currently going on at their natural home turf, the White Hart Lane.
“Somehow it is affecting us but not that much because the only difference is it does not feel at home. The atmosphere at the Lane and Wembley are different. At the Lane, we feel more at home and the support is much more compared to Wembley,” Wanyama told Capital Sport.
The Mauricio Pochettino coached side can still get to the last 16 if they manage back to back wins against Monaco in France and at home to CSKA Moscow, the only side they have enjoyed victory against in Europe.
Totenham’s Mousa Dembele and Harry Kane celebrate a goal with Victor Wanyama. PHOTO/courtesy
Failure to pick up those important six points might see them drop down to the Europa League.
“It is frustrating that we are not getting results especially at home but hopefully, we can work out something in the two remaining matches and pull through to the knock out stages. I still believe it is something we can achieve,” a confident Wanyama added.
The side though has been enjoying a different kind of form in the domestic league where they are the only unbeaten side in the English Premier League and are placed fifth on the standings.
Wanyama is confident with the current crop of stars in the team and the return to fitness of lead striker Harry Kane, the side can do better than their third place finish last season.
Harambee Stars captain Victor Wanyama in happy moods during the national team training at the Kasarani Stadium. PHOTO/Raymond Makhaya
“We have a lot of games and hopefully we can continue performing like how we are right now. The only shortfall has been the goals but hopefully we can improve and do better than last season. He (Kane) is one of the important players we have in the team and we are happy to have him back. Hopefully he will come in and do the business,” Wanyama offered.
Working with Mauricio Pochettino again after playing under the Argentine’s tutelage during his stint at Southampton, Wanyama says he is enjoying his best football and notes his Spurs team mates have made work easier for him.
“All my team mates make everything easy. Everyone is moving, running, working hard and we take the burden as a team. It is great for me and I am enjoying myself there. Hopefully we can achieve great things with this club,” The former Saints and Celtic midfield ace added.
Wanyama is currently in the country for national assignment where he will lead Kenya to two friendly matches against Mozambique on Saturday and Liberia on Tuesday.
