Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino reckons Dele Alli is being put under too much pressure.
According to popular belief Alli has struggled to hit the heights of the last two seasons on a consistent basis this time around .
He also played just 22 minutes of England’s two friendlies against Holland and Italy, leading Gareth Southgate to suggest his starting place at the World Cup was far from certain.
However Pochettino believes his midfielder gets unfair criticism for someone who is still only young with the Spurs boss saying: “I have full confidence in him and his talent and because I know him – he is a great kid and a very good person.
“But he is young. He is 21. If you compare with normal people on the street who are 21, they are still living at home with their parents, they are still at university doing stupid things.
Pochettino added: “Sometimes we expect too much and we put too much pressure on 21-year-old players. Sometimes we forget and treat them like 40-year-old men.
“It’s not like this. We need to be focused on him being still a kid. It’s a lot of pressure on his shoulders and not always can he act how the people and the society expect. That is so important to understand.
“We are going to help him because he is a talented player and a great kid.
He went on to: “And he has done a lot for us and the club.The problem is that in the last two seasons, he was unbelievable, amazing.
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