Nabil Bentaleb wants to cheer up Tottenham’s supporters by beating Swansea tomorrow and then going on to qualify for the Champions League.

Spurs’ bid to win their first trophy since 2008 ended in failure on Sunday as Chelsea lifted the League Cup following a 2-0 win.

They have been eliminated from two cups in four days, but Bentaleb is still confident they can recover and achieve their only other aim this season – qualifying for the Champions League for the first time in five years.

“We have only the Premier League to focus on and it will be a good race for the top four. The manager told us we had to bounce back for the game against Swansea,” the Tottenham midfielder said.

“We have to take the disappointment in the right way. Now we have to put some smiles back on our faces and Wednesday is a good chance to do it.

“I have experienced disappointment before, for example at the World Cup last summer when Germany knocked out Algeria. This was my first final and I hope we can learn from it.”

Bentaleb was involved in one of the big flash points in an often-fiery first half when Diego Costa pushed him in the face as they competed for the ball.

Costa has drawn criticism for his combative style of play this year, but Bentaleb refused to condemn the striker, who went unpunished for the incident with the Algerian.

“Was he lucky not to be given a card? Maybe. I don’t know what was happening in his head, but I stayed focused on my game,” Bentaleb said.

“Sometimes you have arguments with players. It’s nothing bad.”

Premier League fixtures

Today: 20.45 Aston Villa vs West Brom; Hull vs Sunderland; Southampton vs Crystal Palace.

Tomorrow: 20.45 Man. City vs Leicester; Newcastle vs Man. United; QPR vs Arsenal; Stoke vs Everton; Tottenham vs Swansea; West Ham vs Chelsea. 21.00 Liverpool vs Burnley.

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