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Football London
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Emma de Duve & Renuka Odedra

Robbie Keane on Tottenham's Champions League hopes and what it could mean for Fabio Paratici

Tottenham's 3-1 victory over Brighton on Saturday takes them through to the fifth round of the FA Cup and Robbie Keane has delivered his verdict on the rest of the season for the Lilywhites.

Spurs will now play Middlesbrough in the next round of the cup competition, taking them one step closer to some much needed silverware.

In the league, Antonio Conte's side are currently seventh but just two points off fourth place Man United and with two games in hand.

There are some tough fixtures to come for Tottenham and they will want to get as many points in the Premier League as possible, to help their chances in securing a Champions League spot.

Since the arrival of Conte in N17, there have been improvements seen both on and off the pitch, which is helping the Lilywhites chance of having a strong final few months of the season.

In Saturday's game against Graham Potter's side, Spurs showed more energy and determination than in some recent games, especially in the first half, which helped the home side get the victory.

Spurs had 12 shots with seven on target and only one of Brighton's five shots was on target, helping them progress to the next round of the competition.

Now Conte has just a few days before his sides return to Premier League fixtures, as they welcome Southampton to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Wednesday.

Former Lilywhites player Keane gave his verdict on his old side, after the match on Saturday.

"If they play like that, certainly the first half, they'll win a lot more games than they lose," the 41-year-old admitted.

"They're only a couple points off Man United with a couple of games in hand.

"I think for Tottenham this season, if they can win a trophy, the FA Cup and get into the Champions League, I think that's a very very successful season," he added.

"I think the Champions League is huge for Tottenham.

"For [Antonio] Conte signing new players in the summer, if you have the Champions League that'll attract them."

Fabio Paratici has had his say on Tottenham's January transfer window. (Photo by Tottenham Hotspur FC/Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images)

Tottenham's January transfer window saw some late success, with the arrivals of two former Juventus players in Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur.

However, Spurs did lose out on the likes of Luis Diaz and Adama Traore, who were both heavily linked with a move to north London in the early stages of the winter window.

When speaking to the media on Thursday, Fabio Paratici gave his verdict on the transfer window.

"Sometimes you win, as what happened with [Cristian] Romero in the summer, and sometimes you can lose the race," he admitted. "I think the worst and strange thing is not being in the race.

"We are here to build something bigger and I know, we know we need patience and time to build something. We can't build something in one month, six months, we need time.

"We want to sign players who can improve our team, we don't sign just to sign," Paratici added.

He also spoke about looking ahead to the summer window.

"Now is early to say what we need in the summer. I am very positive, I think the work balance is the most important," the 49-year-old explained.

"We want to achieve this type of situation, to have a balanced roster which in every position has players, the right players, committed, focused with good mentality, good dressing room."

Tottenham can have a number of targets in transfer windows but securing the deals for these players is another task and as Keane explains, having the prospect of Champions League football will only help their case in attracting players.

The new arrivals both got match minutes against Brighton and showed glimpses of their potential as they continue to settle in to their new side.

Paratici may not yet be thinking about summer transfers but as the final few months of the season progress, he is likely to want to start looking into potential targets and a strong finish to the season will help his search.

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