Mauricio Pochettino has briefed the media ahead of Tottenham’s trip to Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League on Tuesday night.
Spurs will be looking to bounce back after suffering their first league defeat since December against Manchester City on Saturday.
A number of topics were on the agenda at the press conference. Here are three things we learned.
Alderweireld will be involved at Brighton
Much has been said about Toby Alderweireld’s recent absences from the Tottenham squad, but Pochettino has dismissed rumours of a falling out and suggested the Belgian will feature at Brighton.
He also suggested Alderweireld could play in the FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United this weekend.
“Toby is going to be involved in the squad and then on Friday, I will decide if he is going to play or not,” said Pochettino (all quotes via ESPN).
Meanwhile, Danny Rose and Harry Winks are still sidelined with injuries.
Poch thinks Spurs’ poor start to the season meant they couldn’t challenge for the title
Now that Manchester City have officially been crowned champions of England, the managers of the other top clubs are being questioned on their failure to challenge Pep Guardiola’s side.
Pochettino explained that Tottenham’s “unstable” start to the season prevented them from fighting for the title this term.
He said: “”The challenge for us in the next few years [is] to be consistent, try to start the season better.
“Manchester City started the season really well – we started with a lot of problems. We were very unstable in the way we started the season.”
The Spurs boss still has faith in Lloris
Hugo Lloris has made three mistakes that have led to goals in as many games, although it’s worth noting his foul on Raheem Sterling that resulted in a penalty happened outside the box and shouldn’t have been given.
Despite the skipper’s poor form, Pochettino maintains Lloris is one of the world’s best goalkeepers and still has his trust.
“For me Hugo Lloris is doing fantastic, for me he is one of the best keepers in the world and for me there is no doubt about him,” said Pochettino.
