Forget settling in at Wembley Stadium, it is high time Tottenham made real progress in Europe – starting with Gent

Tottenham’s ability to adapt to Wembley Stadium will determine their fortunes for most of the next two years but there is a far more important hurdle they must overcome.

In recent times, something has happened when Spurs have faced opponents from overseas. Against most Premier League teams, they are full of verve and confidence. Against sides from Europe, they are far less sure of themselves.

The Champions League campaign of 2010/11, when Harry Redknapp’s Tottenham performed above expectations to reach the quarter-finals, is the outlier. That season, when Gareth Bale emerged as a potential world-class talent, Spurs defeated Inter Milan and AC Milan before they were eliminated by Real Madrid.

Since 2006, Spurs have been involved in European competition every season, with the exception of 2009/10. The previous campaign, Redknapp had taken control of a team bottom of the table in October and steered them to eighth in the Premier League by the end of the season — a fine achievement, but Europe was out of reach.

Spurs’ best performances in this period, apart from the Champions League campaign under Redknapp, were under Martin Jol in 2007 and under Andre Villas-Boas in 2013, when they also reached the last eight. Given the quality of some of Spurs’ squads, it is simply not good enough.

While Spurs have been underwhelming in the Uefa Cup and Europa League (as it was renamed from 2009/10), English clubs have performed reasonably well in the competition.

Chelsea won it in 2013, while Middlesbrough, Fulham and Liverpool reached the final in 2006, 2010 and 2016 respectively. In that context, Spurs’ sluggish displays are well short of what might be expected.

Tonight’s opponents Gent, who arrive at Wembley protecting a 1-0 lead from last week’s first leg, are a solid side but they are eighth in the Belgian top flight. The reigning champions and league leaders, Club Brugge, lost all six of their Champions League group games.

If Tottenham are the third-best team in England, which has a stronger top flight, they should really be disposing of Gent. Belgium’s other European survivors, Anderlecht and Genk, take on Zenit St Petersburg and Astra Giurgiu respectively tonight for a place in the last 16. Both are above Gent in the domestic table.

Yes, Tottenham have sometimes played weakened teams in this competition, which led to them crashing out at the group stage in 2011/12. But that cannot be a blanket excuse. In the last decade, there have still been defeats by Getafe, Udinese, Rubin Kazan and PAOK Salonika.

While there have also been victories over Lyon, Inter and Fiorentina, the sense remains that Spurs are under-performing.

When they meet a battle-hardened European heavyweight, such as Benfica in 2014 and Borussia Dortmund last season, they are swept aside. There was another weakened team against Dortmund but even under such circumstances, Spurs looked timid.

Fulham 0 Tottenham 3 | FA Cup Highlights | 2016/17

“In domestic football we have done very well,” said Tottenham top scorer Harry Kane, who is expected to be part of a strong line-up at Wembley.

“In the Europa League, though, you could probably say we haven’t progressed as far as people would expect us to do. Now it is about changing that. We are probably one of the favourites in the competition now and we have to use that confidence to go as far as possible. Why have we struggled? It is hard to say. It is about producing a performance now.”

Kane is right: Tottenham are fourth favourites with most bookmakers behind Manchester United, Roma and Shakhtar Donetsk.

That suggests they should reach the semi-finals — the minimum requirement for the talent in their squad.

Their history offers little confidence that they will do so.

Manager Mauricio Pochettino returned again this week to his team’s mental fragility, highlighting the slack attitude at Gent last week.

“When we start a game, if you watch only 50 seconds, you sometimes know there needs to be a change [of approach]. You can see we might have problems in a certain game because we are not focused enough.

“The problem is when you start badly, as we did at Gent, it is difficult to change that perception — and you give a very good signal to the opposition that you are not focused on the game. This is a mentality we have to change.”

It is high time Tottenham made strides in Europe, then, but they also need a big win under Pochettino against opposition from abroad.

In the Argentine’s first season, Spurs were beaten by Fiorentina in the last 32. They had revenge on the Italians at the same stage the following season, only for Dortmund to knock out Pochettino’s under-strength team in the last 16.

Gent are not Dortmund. They are not even Fiorentina. But if Spurs can deliver under pressure at Wembley, it might just give their European football the boost it needs.