Lloris would have left Spurs if not for Poch

Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, 29, says he would have left the club had it not been for the rejuvenating influence of manager Mauricio Pochettino.

Lloris was heavily linked with a move to Manchester United when there was uncertainty over the future of David De Gea but was rewarded for his loyalty by being made club captain following the departure of Younes Kaboul to Sunderland.

Lloris signed a five-year contract extension at White Hart Lane in the summer of 2014 and Tottenham fans will be hoping that the club can finish in the Champions League places to give the likes of Lloris and Kane the platform to play in the top European competition.

“I’ve flourished completely here,” he told L’Equipe. “I can even say that since the arrival of Pochettino I found new benchmarks.

“My second season here was complicated, I had kept a certain level of performance but collectively there were too many gaps and it had been against the big teams.

“I had not felt a strong club, but rather an unstable one, with a coaching change in the middle of the season, just the opposite of what I like to see in football. I was actually asking myself questions until Pochettino arrived.”

Even when Pochettino’s side were struggling to adapt to his high energy, pressing game, Lloris was full of admiration for his manager.

“Even when it was not working yet, he said: ‘Do not worry, we will get there.’ His speech was clear, we suddenly knew where we were going,” Lloris added.

“With the quality of the workforce, and work ethic that is in training, there is no reason that we don’t progress.”

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