• Premier League

Lamela: I will come good this season

ESPN staff
July 24, 2014
Are Spurs doomed?

Erik Lamela has promised Tottenham fans will start to see the real him this season after starring in their 3-2 pre-season friendly victory over Toronto.

The forward endured a miserable, injury-hit debut season in the Premier League, making just three starts as he failed to justify his £30 million price tag after moving from Roma in what was a club-record fee for Spurs.

However, he showed glimpses of the form that saw former Spurs manager Andre Villas-Boas bring him to White Hart Lane with two goals against Toronto before Andros Townsend sealed the win late on.

"It's something I would like do [carry his pre-season form into the upcoming campaign], but I have to continue to work," said Lamela. "As the season progresses I will continue to get better.

"I felt like I was able to play a good 45 minutes. Overall I think the team did really well and I'm happy with the performance today.

"I had an unfortunate injury last season that kept me out of play for quite some time. In the same way, it's helped me emotionally and morally to get better and work harder towards this season."

Manager Mauricio Pochettino was quick to laud Lamela's contribution against Toronto and is backing him to star in the coming campaign.

"We expect a lot from him, he's an unbelievable player," said Pochettino. "He needs to show us that he deserves to play, but at the moment we are happy with his performance."

Spurs announced the double capture of Michel Vorm and Ben Davies from Swansea - with Gylfi Sigurdsson going the other way - prior to kick-off as Pochettino finally kicked off his summer transfer business.

Full-back Davies made his debut against Toronto and Pochettino belies the 21-year-old could prove vital next season.

"The season is very long and we need to stay deep at every position," added Pochettino.

"Ben Davies is important for us because he's good competition for Danny Rose on the left side. He's a young player, but he has good experience in the Premier League."

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