Mauricio Pochettino looked extremely relaxed in the pre match press conference ahead of the game against Watford.
It looked like the international break had given the Argentine the time he needed to take a step back and reassess the recent problems at the club.
He seemed to contradict many of the things he said previously by asserting that he has complete trust in this set of players to turn the team’s form around and even insisted that he would hang on to all of them beyond January if it were up to him (Football.London).
The 47-year-old also narrated a funny story from training this week where he claimed to have participated in ‘boxes’ with the players without getting inside the box a single time.
When elaborating on how Kane needed to step up and take up the leadership mantle in Lloris’ absence, Pochettino told Football.London, “The problem is if you need to act. If you are not a real leader and you need to act, you spend energy thinking: ‘How do I need to face this problem?’
“But if you trust in yourself and you are a natural leader, that, I promise, you don’t feel the responsibility.”
“It’s like I feel now. Of course, it’s my responsibility but I am flying. If you see me today running on the pitch. Today I played boxes. 10, 12 minutes. How many times did I go inside [the box]?”
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Pochettino reportedly asked his assistant manager Jesus Perez the same question and he replied that he hadn’t gone in the box once, as nobody had intercepted his passes.
He was then asked which players he was taking on to which he responded, “Toby [Alderweireld], Jan [Vertonghen], Tanguy [Ndombele], Moussa Sissoko, Davinson Sanchez, [Juan] Foyth, Harry Kane, [Harry] Winks, Serge Aurier and Skippy and not one time!”
On a serious note, the Argentine also talked about the importance of winning against Watford to restore the players’ confidence.
He added, “It is important to win, it is the best medicine for everyone to win games and have a good performance and the key is to provide the team with togetherness, calm and to believe in them, that is the most important thing.
“When you arrive in a period like this you can hear a lot of opinion but the most important thinig is our assessment, the way that we talk.
“To be calm and have freedom, to want to play you need to feel freedom and play with happiness, fight and energy and it’s important not to think of the consequences.
“The players need to feel the confidence that they are all together and have the responsibility and personal touch they need to feel free. We are here to provide them with the calmness they need.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Pochettino seems to be reiterating the need to keep calm which I believe is the right approach. We are not far off the top 4 and so there is no reason to panic just yet. We literally couldn’t have asked for an easier game than a home match against Watford and nothing less than three points will do this afternoon.
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