Thursday 25 February 2016 08:35, UK
Fiorentina coach Paulo Sousa believes Tottenham have been transformed into one of Europe's best clubs this season.
Sousa brings his team to London on Thursday for their Europa League last-32 second-leg clash, the opening game in Florence having ended in a 1-1 draw last week.
Fiorentina knocked Tottenham out of the competition 3-1 on aggregate at the same stage last season but Sousa believes Mauricio Pochettino has improved the Premier League side significantly since then.
The White Hart Lane club have only lost three league games this season, and boast the best goal difference and defensive record in England's top division.
"I certainly feel and I believe a lot of us also think that Spurs are one of the very best teams in Europe at the moment," the former QPR, Swansea and Leicester boss said.
"That's from a technical, tactical, mentality and physical point of view. They're a young team, and they're a very hungry team and every time they go out they want to try to impose themselves.
"We need to play with a high level of physical and mental intensity and we need to play our game.
"Certainly in the first leg - despite the fact that Spurs are the team that come from this background and culture of being intense, being very strong and being physical - we more than held our own and created problems for them by the way we kept the ball moving."
And Sousa does not think Pochettino will have taken any focus away from Thursday's match despite Tottenham maintaining second place in the Premier League with a 2-1 win over Manchester City on Valentine's Day.
The home side will, though, be without leading scorer Harry Kane, who will miss the clash after suffering a broken nose.
"First and foremost, Mauricio's mentality and approach is one of someone who always wants to win," Sousa added.
"I find it hard to imagine a manager going into a game thinking they don't want to win or not being interested in winning a competition. And you can't just focus on one competition.
"You have to bear in mind that Mauricio comes from a very competitive footballing background and certainly he will want to win."
