Former Tottenham defender Gary Stevens says the club should take the Europa League seriously.

Andre Villas-Boas, who won the tournament in 2011 with Porto, put out a strong starting eleven against Lazio in their first match of this campaign.

Stevens told talkSPORT: "I think that the Europa League is something that should definitely be taken seriously by Tottenham.

"One of the greatest things on my CV as a player is the fact that I won the UEFA Cup, as it was then called, back in 1984 with Tottenham. It was a fabulous season, a fabulous achievement for the club and I've got the medal that says I've won it, so it is very, very important and the Tottenham fans still talk about it today.

"I think if any club says that one of the tournaments they're playing in is not important to win then I think they're being extremely arrogant, I really do.

"If you look at a club in the Premier League at the start of the season they've got a chance of winning the league, you've got a chance of winning the FA Cup, you've got a chance of winning the league cup and if they are in a European competition they've got that as well, so they've only got three or four trophies that they could possibly win.

"I just don't think you can be picky and choosy and say, 'well, we're not going to bother about the Europa League because the Premier League is more important'. You have to approach every single one with a view to winning it."