Lloris vows to ‘shake things up’

Hugo Lloris is sure he will get more games at Tottenham and has promised to “shake things up” at White Hart Lane following his debut against Lazio this week.

Lloris signed from Lyon on deadline day but the France skipper had to wait three weeks to make his debut thanks to the international break and Andre Villas-Boas’s reluctance to drop No 1 Brad Friedel.

The Portuguese gave the American the night off on Thursday, allowing Lloris a chance to impress and the 25-year-old performed well, keeping a clean sheet in the 0-0 Europa League stalemate against Lazio.

Spurs boss Villas-Boas is now in the unenviable position of having to decide whether to drop Lloris back to the bench or cut Friedel’s run of 308 consecutive Barclays Premier League matches short by sticking with the France stopper against QPR at White Hart Lane tomorrow (4pm).

“The choice lies with the coach but I’m here to shake things up a bit,” Lloris said.

“I’m not worried, if Tottenham came looking for me at Lyon, then surely I will play a part in the future of the club.

“I just hope that I get the chance to play.”

Friedel has branded Fabian Barthez “ignorant” and “disrespectful” after the former Manchester United goalkeeper said he was baffled by Villas-Boas’s decision to stick with the American.

“Lloris is one of the five best goalkeepers in the world,” Barthez told Le Parisien.

“He is faster than Friedel, he jumps higher and he is very strong mentally.

“What is happening now is incomprehensible, but I’m not concerned. He will become the centre-piece of the club. Hugo is a calm guy, a good worker. Tottenham will not let him stay on the bench for a long time.”

Friedel took offence, however, and yesterday hit back on Twitter.

“Just saw barthez comments. I normally don’t comment on such c**p but when disrespected by someone I don’t respect I must,” he wrote. “Barthez was ignorant, disrespectful and out of order to mention my name.”

Meanwhile, Mark Hughes faces a defensive injury crisis ahead of the Spurs game with Anton Ferdinand, Fabio, Armand Traore and Stephane Mbia all ruled out.

They join Samba Diakite, Andy Johnson and possibly Adel Taarabt on the sidelines.