Emmanuel Adebayor fears Tottenham will be punished if they play conservatively against Panathinaikos in tonight’s decisive Europa League tie.
Spurs require only a point to reach the next stage of the competition after securing seven points from their opening five games.
Ahead of the final round of matches, leaders Lazio are already through and Andre Villas-Boas’s team are favourites to join them in the round of 32.
Spurs drew 1-1 against Panathinaikos in Athens in October and know that the same result would be sufficient but Adebayor believes that adopting a cautious approach would be taking the road to ruin.
“Come on, let’s be honest — we’re not playing to draw against Panathinaikos at home,” said the forward, who is expected to start tonight.
“If we start thinking about getting a draw at home to Panathinaikos, then we shouldn’t have a place in the Europa League.
“We just have to play for the win. I can’t see why we would play to draw. I have a huge respect for Panathinaikos and I believe they’re a good side but we’re at home and in front of our own fans. At White Hart Lane, we have to score goals.”
After a patchy period of form, Spurs’s results have improved dramatically recently. Victories over West Ham, Liverpool and Fulham in the space of a week lifted the club to fourth in the Premier League and a useful result against the Greeks, in a competition Villas-Boas values highly, would improve the mood still further.
Former manager Harry Redknapp attached little importance to the Europa League as he feared the regular Thursday-Sunday routine of European and domestic fixtures would damage his team’s top-flight campaign.
Villas-Boas has chosen to field much stronger sides in Europe than his predecessor and although that selection policy places greater strain on his squad, Adebayor is confident the players can cope.
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He insisted: “As a professional, you just have to get ready for it. It’s no different from playing on a Wednesday in the Champions League and then in the Premier League on a Saturday. We’re in the Europa League and we have to take advantage of it, enjoy it and not ask a lot of questions.”
Adebayor has now completed the three-match domestic suspension he served for his red card in the 5-2 north London derby defeat by Arsenal and will be eligible to face Everton on Sunday. However, with Jermain Defoe in fine form, he is likely to play at Goodison Park only if Villas-Boas settles on a two-man forward line.
