Tottenham transfer news: Mauricio Pochettino rules out January overhaul and insists he ‘believes’ in his players
Pochettino also warned that Ryan Sessegnon and Giovani Lo Celso are not close to a first-team return
Your support helps us to tell the story
This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.
The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.
Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.
Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino says there were will be no January overhaul of his squad.
Pochettino was hugely frustrated in the summer when his attempts to rebuild his side fell flat, with the club unable to ship out a host of players.
Amid a poor start to the season, which has seen the Argentinian face questions over his future, Spurs have been accused of becoming stale after a number of years under Pochettino’s charge.
The January transfer window, which represents the club’s final chance to sell the likes of Christian Eriksen, Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen before their deals expire in the summer, appears a good opportunity to continue the reshape that Pochettino longs for, but he says he is not expecting much activity.
Asked whether it will be a big month for the club, he replied: “No, I don’t believe.
“I believe in the players we have. I believe in the players that are in Tottenham today.
“I respect the opinion of people who say we need to change or do something, in or out. But if it is my decision, I am going to to stick with players because I know have the quality.
“It’s only to unlock some situation that is going on in their minds. We have great quality to achieve the things we are expected to.
“It is not about changing this chair for a sofa and moving the table. We are the same. It is most important to help them, most important to provide calm.
“It is important that players feel support from the manager. I trust 200 per cent in them and believe they have capacity and potential to win the games.
“This situation happens at all clubs sooner or later. We have confidence we have the quality. It is only matter of time. For them, they are the principal actors on the pitch.”
The international break came at a good time for Spurs after a horror 10 days which saw them lose to League Two Colchester in the Carabao Cup, get hammered 7-2 by Bayern Munich in the Champions League and then go down 3-0 at Brighton.
Pochettino could not sulk, though, as he had a pre-arranged speaking engagement in Qatar, which he said was like medicine.
“We had an offer a few months ago to go to Aspire, I was talking there for one and a half hours, in front of 100 people, 50 clubs, all the big clubs in the world were there,” he explained.
“It was like a medicine. We flew at 8am on Sunday and I was dead. We arrived and it was difficult to find the energy and then to talk about Tottenham and our ideas and philosophy and football.
“It was the most difficult thing but we found the energy.”
Spurs will be expected to return to form when they host bottom-club Watford on Saturday, though Christian Eriksen is a doubt due to a dead leg.
Giovani Lo Celso and Ryan Sessegnon have returned to full training, but Pochettino has warned their return to the team is “far away”.
“They are far away from the level they need to be involved,” the boss added. “There are a lot of players ahead of them.
“But it’s good news that from tomorrow they are going to be involved with the team. Massive step.
“It’s been a long time they were out. They will feel us, understand, compete with team-mates.”
PA
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments