Tottenham news: Mauricio Pochettino says Spurs have to adopt siege mentality to succeed

Pochettino wants his players to adopt a siege mentality approach to the changes before the year is out

Darren Witcoop
Friday 31 August 2018 21:02 BST
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Tottenham 2018/19 Premier League profile

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Mauricio Pochettino believes his Tottenham squad will be galvanised by the prospect of playing at three different stadiums this season.

Tottenham have been forced to start the season at their temporary home of Wembley, where they played last season, with their new ground delayed by problems with the safety systems.

But there is also the controversial move of their Carabao Cup third round tie with Watford to Stadium MK after asking for special dispensation due to their national stadium being unavailable next month.

Pochettino wants his players to adopt a siege mentality approach to the changes before the year is out.

"The good thing is that we are so positive with the approach and everything," said the Tottenham manager.

"We are working to be positive rather than negative. We are creating a challenge - if we are going to play in another venue that is different it’s a challenge for us.

"We have to show ourselves that we are strong and can perform as well. All people think that’s it’s a problem but if we can find the solution and we can become stronger.

"The difference this season is that we will try and challenge everyone and show we can fight all the problems. The only way to be successful is to fight."

Pochettino will be without Hugo Lloris (groin) at Vicarage Road but one certain starter is Lucas Moura. The Brazilian winger has scored three goals in as many games, including a double in Monday's 3-0 win over Manchester United.

If Son Heung-min hadn't been given the green light to head to the Asian Games with South Korea, then Moura could still have been kicking his heels on the sidelines.

Harry Kane and Lucas Moura celebrate goals against Manchester United
Harry Kane and Lucas Moura celebrate goals against Manchester United (Getty)

After a difficult introduction following his £23million move in January, Pochettino added: "We have Son away and Lucas has come in and scored three goals and helped us achieve the victories.

"We hope he can contribute a lot of goals. I’m not a person who needs to convince a player to stay or not stay. We won’t convince players who don’t want to stay.

"If they want to leave, they can leave. But that wasn’t the case. Last season he struggled a lot to adapt.

"But he is a new position, next to Harry Kane like a second striker, and he has adapted well. From when he arrived from Paris Saint-Germain he was a completely different player from today."

Lucas was superb for Spurs
Lucas was superb for Spurs (Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty)

Pochettino's side have won three out of three but is keeping his players grounded as they look to mount a title push. Manchester City remain red-hot favourites to defend their Premier League title while Liverpool are expected to push them all the way.

"We have still won nothing," he added. "We work in reality. In the last three games we’ve conceded a lot of chances. Our keeper (Lloris) made an unbelievable save to keep the team alive against Manchester United.

“If we want to fight and be a contender, we need to talk on the pitch and not outside. We need to show we are capable after 10 months, not only after three games."

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