Mauricio Pochettino has briefed the media ahead of Tottenham’s FA Cup quarter-final at Swansea on Saturday.
Here are three things we learned from the press conference.
Alderweireld might start at Swansea
Pochettino revealed Toby Alderweireld is back in full training and is in contention to start at the Liberty Stadium.
The Belgian missed three months with a hamstring injury earlier in the season. He returned to action in February, but a couple of setbacks have been him miss more games of late.
Indeed, Pochettino said he is yet to decide whether Alderweireld will play from the beginning on Saturday.
“He was back in training on Tuesday with the team. I still haven’t decided if he will be involved or not in the trip to Swansea.” said Pochettino. (All quotes via Ham&High).
The Spurs boss also said Harry Winks could be included in the starting line-up.
Pochettino admires Kane’s bravery
Harry Kane has been ruled out until April after damaging ankle ligaments in the 4-1 win at Bournemouth last weekend.
He is expected to miss Tottenham’s Premier League meeting with Chelsea, which takes place early next month.
But Pochettino refused to rule him out of returning for the trip to Stamford Bridge, praising the striker’s bravery.
“He’s a warrior. He put his leg in the washing machine for the team to try to score – against Sunderland, Millwall and now, because he’s so brave,” Pochettino said.
“Maybe another player says ‘I’m not going to take a risk’, but he’s a warrior. That’s why Harry Kane is Harry Kane.”
“We need to compare Tottenham with Tottenham”
Pochettino criticised the culture of comparing clubs in the modern game, suggesting the desperation for a trophy at Tottenham comes from looking at the success of other teams.
He said: “People that understand football very well know that this is a very exciting project because we’re not a club that are going to buy trophies, we are a club that’s going to deserve trophies.
“That, for me, is why people show frustration, because they think we deserve trophies that we do not achieve. That is part of the process.
“The players are happy. The worst thing in life is to compare with others, and we need to compare Tottenham with Tottenham.”
COYS!
Poch is clearly perturbed by the incessant pressure of media calls for Spurs to win a trophy.
Success in the Champions League maybe better for his CV and long term ambitions, but the fans have not seen silverware for ten years.
The proof of the pudding will be the commitment to the FA cup. This is surely the fans’ priority.
I’m sure Poch will field his best possible team to face Swansea, it’s really down to those lucky players who are picked, to fight for every ball, reproduce what they have shown on the training ground. I think it will be close, but we should win through in the end, with the decent squad we have available
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