Harry Winks has said the hour-long meeting Mauricio Pochettino held with the Tottenham squad before Saturday’s clash with Crustal Palace was a factor behind the impressive 4-0 victory.
In his press conference before the game, Pochettino revealed he gathered the players in order to re-focus them after the close of the European transfer window. A number of Spurs stars – including Christian Eriksen, Toby Alderweireld, Victor Wanyama and Serge Aurier – were linked with the exit door throughout the summer but ended up staying put.
Pochettino has put recent sub-par performances down to the squad being unsettled, suggesting we wouldn’t see the real Tottenham until after window closed. And as if by magic, Spurs turned it on in their first game since the deadline passed.
Strikes from Son Heung-min and Erik Lamela, as well as a Patrick van Aanholt own goal, ensured a convincing margin of victory for the hosts, and Winks thinks Pochettino’s meeting played a part in the improved display.
When asked if that was the case, Winks said (via i News): “Yeah, I suppose so. First and foremost in training we’ve just been working on what we need to do better to beat teams and what we need to do against sides who come here and sit off us and make it difficult.
“There was a little bit of tactics involved [in the meeting] and a little bit of mental refocusing as well. We were excellent today, we showed our real quality today.”
Tottenham face Olympiacos in their Champions League opener on Wednesday and will hope for a repeat of their weekend performance.
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