Winning the Europa League - and qualifying for the Champions League - would provide a much-needed financial boost to Spurs

Doom and gloom has followed Tottenham Hotspur like a pesky shadow this season, rightly or wrongly. The specific genre of despondency changes with the context – sometimes an injury crisis of epic proportions brought the mood down,

It was a near-perfect night in north London, until Spurs gave up an 83rd-minute goal to make things nervy ahead of the second leg in Norway next week.