Jol wary of Feyenoord threat

Tottenham boss Martin Jol believes Feyenoord represent a threat to his side’s progress in the UEFA Cup, despite the Dutch side losing Dirk Kuyt to Liverpool over the summer.

Jol returns to his native Holland for the last-32 clash in February and is wary of underestimating their opponents.

Tottenham finished top of their group following last night’s victory over Dinamo Bucharest, while Feyenoord finished third in their pool.

“I said it yesterday that we would probably get Feyenoord,” said Jol.

“It is not a bad draw for us, they are probably not as good as when they played Spurs in the final of the UEFA Cup in 1974, but it is still a big club who get crowds averaging 45-50,000.

“It will be difficult going over there because they are strong at home, but we’ve got the advantage of playing later at home.

“Feyenoord are in the top five in Holland and are normally in the top three. There is another Dutch club, AZ Alkmaar, who beat Seville on Thursday and are now in the top three instead of Feyenoord.

“Feyenoord had to sell Dirk Kuyt to Liverpool, but they have still got bundles of talent.

“They’ve got a young squad who have done well and beat a good Wisla Krakow side but I feel if we play with confidence like we have been then we can go further.

“It could have been worse and it could have been better, but I am looking forward to going to Rotterdam.

“If you look at the teams in the last 16, Braga are strong and are the third team in Portugal with Porto and Benfica. Parma are a good team and are a contender in Europe.”