Tel previews Forest: 'We have to make sure everybody gives everything'

Mathys Tel is under no illusions when it comes to the significance of Sunday's Premier League crunch game against Nottingham Forest at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (2.15pm UK).

Sitting one point and position above 17th-placed Forest heading into this weekend, the young Frenchman has likened the contest to a ‘final’ because, as part of the squad who lifted the Europa League trophy in Bilbao last season, he knows it's the type of fixture that demands intensity, courage and a total commitment from himself, team-mates and everyone connected to the Club.

After making his initial loan move from FC Bayern Munich permanent in the summer, the 20-year-old attacker brought up his half century in our colours with a start in our 3-2 win over Atletico Madrid in the Champions League Round of 16 second leg in midweek.

Despite it ending in elimination from the competition with a 7-5 aggregate defeat, Mathys helped spark the fightback with a great cross for Randal Kolo Muani’s first-half opener and Xavi Simons scored twice in response to Atleti’s equalisers in a morale-boosting win on the night which highlighted a shared commitment and willingness to fight from the first whistle to the last.

Our fans certainly played their part, too. They brought the energy throughout and showed their appreciation at the performance with a standing ovation at the final whistle with Mathys, who was substituted on 81 minutes to a warm reception of his own from the Spurs faithful as he made his way back to the dugout, underlining the importance of unity and our supporters when we take on Vitor Pereira's side in N17.

"For me, it's a final," he said, speaking exclusively for the matchday programme ahead of the Nottingham Forest game.

"It's a final because we almost have the same points and these three points can change everything. So, for us, we have to stay together.

"We have to go into this game making sure that everybody gives everything and we really need the fans. We need them to be loud, to be behind us the first minute until the last minute.

"We saw that they were behind us. This type of energy just gives us more energy and the fans will push us until the end. As a team, we have to stay together, but as a club, we have to stay together too."

You can read Mathys' exclusive interview in full in the matchday programme.