Jan Vertonghen believes Tottenham can benefit from their familiarity with Wembley in the FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United on Saturday.

Spurs struggled initially at their temporary home for the season but they have since found their bearings and their overall record there is good. In all competitions it reads: W17 D4 L4.

One of the victories came against United in the Premier League on 31 January, when Christian Eriksen scored after 11 seconds. The game finished 2-0, with the second goal going in off the United defender Phil Jones. The scoreline flattered United and Vertonghen believes the comprehensive nature of that performance can also be a factor.

“Wembley is definitely not a disadvantage,” Vertonghen said. “We’re used to it now, even if the atmosphere will be a bit different because United will bring more supporters than usual.

“We feel very comfortable at Wembley, we’ve shown that over the last couple of months – not against Manchester City [in the 3-1 defeat on Saturday] but before that we felt very comfortable. Hopefully we can have the same game as at the beginning of this year when we beat United in a very positive way.”

The Wembley factor stands to be one of the numerous subplots, with Mauricio Pochettino commenting recently on how Tottenham had turned around their fortunes at the stadium. “The perception and the feeling seven months ago was horrendous,” the manager said. “Now it is seen as an advantage.”

Vertonghen says Tottenham must approach the tie in the same way they would a league game at Wembley. “We want to dominate, we want to entertain the crowd and play in a very positive way,” he said. “We have to play in a very entertaining way.

“This team and club deserves a trophy for all the work we’ve put in and we hope Saturday can be the next step. When I won my first trophy [at Ajax], the next couple followed at a very quick tempo. You just need that belief you can do it and then they will come. We’re full of confidence we can do it.”