Guglielmo Vicario reveals Tottenham gameplan against Bodo/Glimt in bid to reach Europa League final | OneFootball

Spurs hold a two-goal advantage ahead of the semi-final second leg

Eyes on prize: Guglielmo Vicario

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Guglielmo Vicario has urged Tottenham to play to their strengths by attacking Bodo/Glimt in Thursday's Europa League semi-final decider here in Norway.

The winners will face Manchester United or Athletic Bilbao in the final in Bilbao in May 21, with Ruben Amorim's side leading their tie 3-0 after the first leg in Spain.

Glimt are unbeaten at home in Europe this season and boast a formidable record on their artificial pitch, but Vicario says it would be a mistake for Spurs to prioritise trying to preserve their advantage.

"No, I think we just need to stick to our principles and to how we have approached games over the last two seasons and try to play our game," said the goalkeeper. "It's important to focus on which are our strengths, our beliefs, and try to win this game of football.

"Of course, try to score goals, I think that will play a big part of the game.

"We cannot just wait and sit back and hope they make mistakes, but I think it would be a game that we have to play in a smart way, but we still have to attack and to play our way."

Vicario added: "As we have been in AZ [in the last-16] and in Frankfurt [in the quarter-final] to show that team performance, to stay very connected, very close to each other, like you always have to do in a European away games, especially in a semi-final.

"So, nothing changed on that perspective, to be fair. We faced already so many big teams away in Europe, so I can say we are ready for that."

Glimt full-back Frederik Sjovold, 21, branded Tottenham's pressing in last week’s first leg in London as “raeva”, which quite literally translates as "ass" or, more politely, "bad".

Bodo head coach Kjetil Knutsen has sought to play down the comments, labelling Sjovold as "inexperienced", while midfielder Jens Petter Hauge has said his teammate was "incorrect" to criticise Spurs.

Vicario, who will be expected to step up as a leader in the absence of injured pair Heung-min Son (foot) and James Maddison (knee), says Spurs want to do their talking on the pitch.

Asked about Sjovold's remarks, the Italian said: "I don't want to get drawn and comment on what other people say. He said this and it's fine to be fair. We're going to prove tomorrow night, we're going to let our football speak tomorrow on the pitch."

Spurs will also be without Lucas Bergvall again, with both the Swede and Maddison to miss the rest of the season with ligament damage.

"It's the kind of thing that we've always to deal with, to be fair," said Vicario. "We will not have Sonny and Madders for tomorrow. So yeah, it's on us but it's on everyone.

"The importance of the entire squad tomorrow will be crucial and we will need the contribution from everyone who's going to start and who's going to come in and from the guys on the bench.

"I think the Spurs family will play a crucial role in the game".