Tottenham deserve to win a trophy, says Vertonghen

The London side's long search for silverware goes unfulfilled but the Belgian centre-back hopes they can challenge for the FA Cup this season

Jan Vertonghen believes Tottenham deserve to put an end to their trophy drought and hopes they reward themselves with one this season.

The London side have not won a trophy since they lifted the League Cup in 2008, but were eliminated from this year's competition this week at the semi-final stage this season after losing on penalties to Chelsea.

Mauricio Pochettino's men are already nine points behind Premier Leagueleaders Liverpool, and though they remain in the Champions League, their best shot of silverware this season may come in the FA Cup.

The London side will take on Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park in their fourth round tie of the competition on Sunday, which Vertonghen sees as crucial for his side.

"Obviously, we were all disappointed on Thursday, but it brings us together — like the game we had at Stamford Bridge when we drew 2-2 a couple of years ago," he told reporters.

"Winning something would definitely mean a lot. I don’t know how many years to come, but, hopefully this year we can. The FA Cup is very important.

"It’s such a shame. This team deserves so much more, but there are so many teams competing for a rare prize.

"Over the last five years, we haven’t had a lot of luck. It would be a big shame if we don’t reward ourselves, because this team and everyone in the club deserves that reward. It would be good to win something."

Eric Dier and Lucas Moura were the Spurs players who missed their spot kicks in midweek to send them crashing out of the cup, but Vertonghen believes they can recover in the next game.

"Eric and Lucas were maybe a bit more disappointed than the rest, but they showed so much responsibility. This is how it goes. Hopefully the game against Palace will give us a better feeling."