PETER Crouch admits that the current Tottenham squad is the best group of players he has ever played with – including the Liverpool side which reached the Champions League final in 2007.

The England striker scored the third goal as Spurs sealed a place in the last 16 with a 3-0 win over Werder Bremen on Wednesday night, and Crouch believes that the Lilywhites’ success is long overdue.

“This might be the best group of players I’ve ever played with at any team to be honest,” he said.

“We had some great individuals at Liverpool and we managed to reach the Champions League final, which was fantastic, but as a group of players I don’t think I’ve played with better.

“Not just that, we’ve got a young squad – it’s not just a team, it’s a squad. We’ve got so many international players waiting to get on and get a game, and it’s just a pleasure to be part of it.”

Crouch added: “When the draw came out for the group stages it could have been a lot easier, but we’ve got such quality in our dressing room, in our squad, that we shouldn’t be afraid of anyone, and we’ve proved that so far – even this week, beating Arsenal and winning another Champions League game quite comfortably.

“We shouldn’t be frightened of anyone and now we want to go on and win the group.

“It’s exciting stuff. You could hear the fans, it’s exciting for them, being a part of our first Champions League experience. We don’t want to get too carried away but it’s looking good at the moment.

“I said right from the start when I came to the club, I was looking around the dressing room thinking ‘how have we not achieved anything?’ so I think it was only a matter of time. Last season finishing fourth was a great achievement but we want to go one better and see if we can win something this year.”

Crouch faces a reunion with his former club Liverpool as the Reds visit White Hart Lane on Sunday, and the Tottenham striker believes that Wednesday’s comfortable victory over Bremen – and a rare clean sheet – will only help to maintain confidence and momentum.

“I think the early goal was very important. They [Bremen] probably set themselves up to defend and the early goal killed them, and from then on it was quite simple really, “said Crouch.

“The manager, the defenders and the goalkeeper wanted to keep a clean sheet and it was very important that we did. We look fantastic going forward but sometimes we’ve conceded a few late goals, or hung onto games that we should be winning comfortably, so we were very pleased with how comfortable it was.

“We all enjoy playing at White Hart Lane, under the lights in the Champions League. The players, love it, the fans love it and the only way you cement that, other than by winning it, is obviously by finishing fourth. We have to make sure that we’re as consistent in the Premier League as we are in the Champions League at the moment.”