Hugo Lloris believes a key decision damaged title hopes | OneFootball

The current trophy drought that Tottenham Hotspur are on is well documented, inside and outside of the club. At the moment, it feels like the club are quite a way from ending that. In the mid 2010's, it felt so close, and was a case of a matter of when, rather than if.

One of the key components of that team was captain Hugo Lloris, who is currently winding down his career in California, at LAFC. The former Spurs skipper recently spoken about what he felt was costly during that period, when speaking to Steve Crossman on the BBC Five Live Football Daily Podcast last week.

Hugo Lloris suggests one key decision derailed title hopes

The 37-year old said: "My big question, and I say it in the book, is what would’ve happened if we had to stay one more year at the old White Hart Lane, you know? Because when we left this stadium, I think we were more ready than ever to compete for the Prem - but we had to move to Wembley and to adapt to a new stadium and try to make it like our own stadium.

But it [competing for the Prem] was not the case. And this difficulty, we managed to keep the consistency. We managed to stay in the top four and to qualify for Champions League. So it was still positive, you know? But the only miss that we can feel is probably the trophy. We had three finals that we didn’t win.

I think this group of players, and Mauricio at that time was ready to win. Then you don’t know in football, it’s so unpredictable. But this feeling that we had, staying unbeaten at home for the whole season, we were getting close, but it’s part of the story of the club.

There was a decision, and it was part of the evolution of the club, moving to a bigger stadium. And I think today all the Spurs fans are so proud of this stadium. It’s just one of the best football stadiums of the world."

After those quotes, Crossman then asked: "Did you realise quite quickly when you had to play temporarily at Wembley, that even though you had that great team, which, like you said, was ready to win - that it was going to be harder for you to do that there?

To which, Lloris responded: "We started to drop points really early, and those points can make the difference at the end of the year, especially at home. At home, you just want the perfect way, and we lost time to find reference. You know, White Hart Lane, before we left, was kind of a fortress."

The final year at White Hart Lane was pretty special, with 17 wins and two draws from nineteen league games. These 53 points at home has only been beaten four times, with all four sides picking up 55 points.

Of course, a big, open Wembley stadium that was never going to be able to sell out every week, was always unlikely to be a fortress in any similar way at all. Then there was the uncertainty of the second season, which wasn't planned to be at Wembley at all - with Spurs in the end playing their first game at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in April of that season.