Spurs have not beaten Chelsea for 12 years in all competitions, and travel to Stamford Bridge for the first leg tomorrow evening in a competition Hoddle believes is crucial to the club's aspirations for next season.
"It's important to us, as we've taken it very seriously because of the route into Europe.
"You saw what happened to Liverpool last season with the Worthington Cup and things snowballed for them from there, and hopefully things will start to happen for us. But we have a difficult game against Chelsea," said Hoddle.
"Both sides are going to find it a tough game, over two legs I don't think there will be much in it. It will be a tight affair but there is a lot of optimism around the place and we believe that we can get through to the final."