Tottenham Hotspur boss Andre Villas-Boas hails importance of Europa League

Tottenham Hotspur manager Andre Villas-Boas believes that the Europa League should be respected and has insisted that he is "proud" to be a part of it.

The North London outfit need a win or a draw against their Group J opponents Panathinakos tonight in order to progress into the knockout rounds of the tournament.

"Increasingly, you have to remove the name Champions from the Champions League competition because it doesn't make any sense and I don't know what others feel about this proposal," ESPN quotes Villas-Boas as saying.

"For me, I like this competition, I am proud to be in it and our attitude to the competition has shown that this season."

UEFA have launched a proposal of cutting the Europa League and allowing more teams to qualify for the Champions League.