Mauricio Pochettino has admitted he found it difficult to watch England during the international break as he was desperate for his Tottenham players to get a positive result.
Despite a Harry Kane penalty, England lost 2-1 against the Czech Republic last Friday. But the Three Lions recovered by thrashing Bulgaria 6-0 on Monday, with Kane providing three assists and scoring. Harry Winks also impressed.
Spurs suffered back-to-back humiliations before the break, losing 7-2 to Bayern Munich in the Champions League before falling to a 3-0 defeat at Brighton. But Pochettino was pleased to see his players reverse the “negative dynamic” that had been afflicting them.
“It was fantastic for them to finish with a great result and to build their confidence,” Pochettino said (via the Independent). “Of course, it was a tough game after Czech Republic and people were down. For our players, it continues the negative dynamic.
“I was hating watching the game thinking, ‘We need to win, we need to win’, putting on my England shirt! After Friday, it was tough but then Monday was better.
“The best medicine is to score, assist, feel the victory and for sure that is going to help our team.”
Tottenham face Watford in the Premier League this weekend and only three points will do as the Londoners look to get their season back on track. Kane will wear the armband in Hugo Lloris’ absence, and Pochettino believes the England captain won’t be fazed by the responsibility.
“Harry has become a natural leader,” the Spurs boss said (via the Guardian). “We will miss Hugo for a few months and to have Harry step up is important. He does not need to feel too much pressure, just to act natural.
“When you do that, if you are a natural leader, you don’t feel the responsibility. 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?’”
We think Kane will start in a front three with Dele Alli and Heung-min Son. Check out our full predicted XI here.
