Pochettino explains why Asia trip was “very positive” for Tottenham

Tottenham ended their International Champions Cup campaign in disappointing fashion as they were on the wrong end of a 2-1 scoreline against Manchester United. The result meant that Spurs end their pre-season tour of Asia with one win and one loss.

With several first-team players missing from the trip including the likes of Danny Rose, Ben Davies, Serge Aurier, Davinson Sanchez, Eric Dier, and Victor Wanyama, Pochettino had to rely on the youngsters to step up and show their quality.

It is safe to say that Spurs’ young guns certainly didn’t disappoint as the likes of Troy Parrot, Japhet Tanganga, and Oliver Skipp put in assured performances, thus displaying why they are so highly-rated at the club.

Despite the defeat, reflecting on the tour, the Spurs manager insisted that it had been very positive. He said that the trip went better than he could have hoped for and helped the squad work towards match fitness.

Speaking to Football.London, the Argentine said, “The trip has been better because of the lack of preparation. Always the risk to play this type of game against Juventus and Manchester United after starting in July.

“We started with eight and 12 different groups [of players returning]. it’s a short time to prepare and travel. I think the balance was fantastic. I think the younger players’ performances were very good.

“I am very happy. Nobody injured, all the players finished the tour and to build step by step our fitness and the way we want to develop our way I think winning one game and another loss but with the feeling we can do better, a lot of positives. I expect it to be good but not as good as we showed it in the last two games.

“I think there are a lot of achievements in one side, sporting, this week. We are very happy with the facilities, in the way that the people of Shanghai welcome us.

“I want to say thank you to all the fans, the people in the hotel and the organisation and big, big hug and thanks to them because they helped a lot.

“Of course we made the effort to try to pay back all that warm welcome from the fans and try to start to create our legacy here.

“It was a very positive trip. Very positive to be in Singapore and to know you all, the people, the amazing city. It was an unbelievable experience and hope to repeat soon.”

Spurs Web Opinion

Perhaps the biggest positive to come out of the two games were the performances of Troy Parrot. The teenager proved that he has the technical quality to compete against the best defenders in the world. Parrot’s performances could save Tottenham some money this summer as Pcohettino might now think twice about signing another striker.

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