Hotspur HQ
Fansided

Mauricio Pochettino’s Press Conference: Tottenham vs CSKA Moscow

By Alexander Balano

ENFIELD, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 01: Manager Mauricio Pochettino speaks during a Tottenham Hotspur press conference ahead of their UEFA Champions League Group E match against Bayer 04 Leverkusen at the Tottenham Hotspur Training Centre on November 1, 2016 in Enfield, England. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)
ENFIELD, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 01: Manager Mauricio Pochettino speaks during a Tottenham Hotspur press conference ahead of their UEFA Champions League Group E match against Bayer 04 Leverkusen at the Tottenham Hotspur Training Centre on November 1, 2016 in Enfield, England. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Mauricio Pochettino spoke to the media prior to Tottenham hosting CSKA Moscow in their final Champions League match this season.

Quickly going over the injury report for Tottenham, there’s big news and some minor news. First up, Toby Alderweireld is fit enough to be selected tomorrow night for Spurs’ final match in their second-ever Champions League campaign.

As for Ben Davies, Vincent Janssen and Érik Lamela, all three are going to be out for Wednesday’s match. Janssen is a new addition and is nursing an ankle injury. Which might explain why he wasn’t involved in Saturday’s match-up againast Swansea City.

“Toby will be involved in the squad for tomorrow and I’m happy [about that]. Mauricio Pochettino said on Spurs’ official site.

“He is recovering well and he will be in the squad. Ben Davies maybe on Thursday will be available to be selected again – his recovery is very good.”

“Érik Lamela is still out and it’s important to send our support because he has a problem with his family in Argentina and he traveled to Argentina last night. We want to send our big support to him and his family.”

“He has a problem with his brother, we hope that it’s not too serious but it’s an issue where he needed to go to Argentina. He is still out.”

Related Story: Who Gets Rotated at Tottenham for CSKA Moscow?

As for Alderweireld starting against CSKA, or even against Manchester United, Pochettino would only say that the 27-year-old Belgian international would be on the bench tomorrow and does not know whether he’ll be in the starting XI at Old Trafford.

It seems that getting him back after a two-month layoff is the first step. Everything else after that will be a work in progress to get the central defender back to 100 percent fitness.

“First of all I think it’s important for him, after two months, to be involved in the squad,” Pochettino added. “Tomorrow maybe he will be on the bench and it’s important for him to start to recover that feeling. Then we’ll see if we decide that he will be in the starting XI or on the bench against Manchester United but that is about performance, about feeling and how we assess him.”

Depending on Wednesday night’s result against CSKA Moscow, a win or a draw will see Spurs progress into the Europa League’s knockout stage. There’s a sense that many supporters don’t want to be involved in that competition.

Mauricio Pochettino on the other hand sees it differently. For him, being a part of any European competition is another opportunity to win some trophies. That viewpoint makes sense, though the Argentine manager is a very positive person. He’s rarely negative — if at all.

More from Match Previews

“I think our supporters never want us to lose a game. It’s important to be involved in the Europa League, it’s important for the club and if we will be involved in the Europa League maybe it’s a good opportunity to win some trophies,” the 44-year-old gaffer said.

“I don’t know why you’d think in a negative way. We need to be positive. Okay, we feel very disappointed that we cannot go further in the Champions League but when it’s another opportunity to be alive in another competition and try to win that trophy, why not?”

“I am always positive, for me it’s important to be involved in the Europa League and it’s for that reason tomorrow we need a big effort to try to win the game.”

Mostly, Pochettino’s press conference centered around Tottenham’s position to drop down into the Europa League and whether they would do their best to go far in that competition or just focus on the Premier League and the FA Cup.

Interestingly enough — or not really, as managers always try to win trophies — Mauricio Pochettino is adamant that the Europa League is the next biggest thing for Spurs and it’s something that he hopes to advance further into than last year. And, to make up for what happened in the Champions League this season.

Next: Tottenham in Contract Negotiations with Toby Alderweireld

“I am the manager of Tottenham and I believe that it is important for the club to be involved in the Europa League,” Pochettino explained. “We didn’t play well in the Champions League at Wembley against Monaco and Bayer Leverkusen, but it’s important for us to be involved in the Europa League. Why not try to go further in that competition?”

“Last season we lost against Borussia Dortmund and tried to go further but now is not a moment to say [we want to compete in] only the Premier League or FA Cup or Europa League. We need to believe that every competition that we are in, we can win.”