Yesterday, Mauricio Pochettino’s 26 man squad jetted off to the US ahead of Tottenham’s International Champions Cup matches against PSG, Roma and Manchester City.
Kicking off in Orlando against PSG on Saturday the 22nd of July, Pochettino discussed the nature of these three tough tests in an interview uploaded to Tottenham’s official club website. He said:
“I think it’s exciting to travel to America, to join our fans there and play three very tough games against Paris Saint-Germain, Roma and Manchester City.”
“In the end it’s pre-season but it can help us to develop and try to arrive fit to start the season. It’s exciting to see the evolution of our players and the young players too, and we are looking forward to arriving there.”
With the start of the new season just a month away, Pochettino was quick to emphasise the importance of maintaining fitness and playing as a unit.
“The start of the season is not too far,” He added. “it’s so close and that is why we need to increase our training sessions to push everyone to try to get fit as soon as possible.”
“It’s true that always you want to win but the most important thing now is to develop our philosophy in the way that we want to play. It’s true that we will rotate a lot, try to use all the players on the tour and we will prioritise different things than the result.”
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Returning from injury, Harry Winks and Mousa Dembele will be a welcome sight on the football pitch this weekend and Poch was happy to explain that both of the midfielders will need game-time to fully recover from their ankle and foot injuries. He said:
“Both are training well. It’s true that Harry needs to recover the feeling that he had when he was injured.”
“He’s recovering well but he needs time to be at the same level that he was, but I think it helps a lot with this trip and these games to start to feel the competition again. It’s very good news for the squad.”
In spite of this, Erik Lamela, Heung-Min Son and Moussa Sissoko will not travel with the team, as the trio are unable to train with the squad due to their two substantial injuries and Sissoko’s virus.
Pochettino did confirm however that Danny Rose will continue his rehabilitation with the squad in America, as the left-back powers towards full recovery. He explained:
“Erik Lamela and Sonny are recovering from their injuries and Moussa Sissoko has got a virus and cannot train at a high intensity.”
“It will be very hot there, the temperature, and the advice from the doctor is to stay in London, try to recover well and then join us when we are back in 12 days.”
As expected, Pochettino has included a large number of youth players in his squad such as young goalkeepers Brandon Austin and Alfie Whiteman, defenders Jon Dinzeyi and Jaden Brown, central midfielder Tashan Oakley-Boothe and wingers Will Miller and Anthony Georgiou.
The Argentine then went on to speak out on his excitement to see these youngsters in action against strong opponents in the coming fixtures.
“They’ve all impressed me in the first few weeks,” He added. “And with John McDermott we decided to give them the possibility to join us on the tour.”
“It’s a big opportunity for them, a great opportunity to show their quality and why not, maybe we are seeing a player for the future of the first team?”
And finally, Pochettino revealed his ‘delight’ over right-back Kieran Trippier, who signed a new five year contract with Spurs just a few days ago. He said:
“I think it’s good for us and good for him. He made his debut in the national team after the season, I think it was exciting for him and we are delighted to have him for the next five years.”
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