Last Updated: Wed, 13 Feb 2013 16:20
Andre Villas-Boas has challenged his team to show they are capable of cutting it in the Champions League by beating Lyon on Thursday.
Villas-Boas will take one more step towards securing his second Europa League trophy if Spurs overcome Lyon in their second-round first leg against the French club at White Hart Lane.
While manager Villas-Boas regards the competition highly, chairman Daniel Levy, and the club's fans, would surely forfeit their place in the Europa League if it meant the London club qualified for the Champions League next season.
Spurs supporters long for a return to the biggest club competition in Europe following their heroics in the competition two seasons ago when they reached the quarter-finals, and the team are currently on course for qualification via the league, where they sit in fourth with 12 games to go.
Given that Lyon possess such stars as Lisandro Lopez, Yoann Gourcuff and Bafetimbi Gomis, Villas-Boas believes Lyon should be playing in the Champions League - indeed they reached the last four of the competition just four years ago.
For that reason, he thinks the two fixtures could go a long way towards proving whether his men should also be competing among Europe's elite.
"This could be a test of whether we're good enough to play in the Champions League," he said.
"I think we've been handed the most difficult draw of this knock-out phase. This is like a Champions League tie.
"Lyon represent a club with tremendous Champions League experience in recent years.
"It will be a good test for Tottenham. It's always going to be a learning experience for us and I think it can serve that purpose towards the future, that's for sure."
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