Mauricio Pochettino Delighted with Tottenham’s Win Over Gillingham
Tottenham cruise into the League Cup’s fourth round following a 5-0 win over Gillingham.
Tottenham’s third round fixture against Gillingham was never going to pose much of a problem. The only questions that needed to be asked was who would start and who would be rested.
It turns out that Mauricio Pochettino decided to fully rotate his starting XI to face-off against third tier Gillingham who is managed by former Spurs left-back Justin Edinburgh.
The final result far exceeded what most expected. A Spurs win was on tap, but a thoroughly dominating effort from start to finish, winning by five goals, was hardly a solid bet.
Seeing as how Tottenham have only looked dominate once this season in their opening six games in all competitions prior to last night’s victory.
Not to mention, some youngsters got their first start and appearance of the season.
While Pochettino made sure to keep experienced players in his lineup with Michel Vorm, Ben Davies, Kevin Wimmer, Kieran Trippier, Christian Eriksen and Érik Lamela starting some slight changes could be risky.
Cameron Carter-Vickers and Kevin Wimmer playing together at central defense for the first time this season looked good. Perfect even, but no knew how’d they do as a unit.
A central midfield pairing of Harry Winks and Tom Carroll could be considered too light (weight-wise) but controlled the game quite easily.
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These changes were necessary to rest key starters ahead of Spurs’ trip to Riverside Stadium against Middlesbrough on Saturday afternoon.
But expecting that these changes in Spurs’ spine wouldn’t be an issue is pushing it.
Still, a good balance was struck which proved critical in a lopsided win that wasn’t close.
“We did our jobs well and I’m very happy for our supporters as well because White Hart Lane was sold out and that’s fantastic,” Mauricio Pochettino said (via Spurs’ official site).
“There was a good balance in the team between young and experienced players and there were youngsters from the Academy who had their first experience of White Hart Lane [for the first team] and that’s always important.”
Giving three of Spurs’ academy players, Carter-Vickers, Marcus Edwards and Anton Walkes some playing time has been in the works for a while now. Along with Josh Onomah and Winks, all five took part in Tottenham’s Australian pre-season tour.
And last night, they all played very well and could earn more starts in the future.
“We’ve spent a long time working with them and we know their qualities well – Cameron, Josh, Harry Winks, Marcus, Anton – all young players who were involved in pre-season in Australia,” Pochettino said.
“We have to wait, to be patient and when they get the opportunity to play they have to show their quality. In the future, they will be great players for us.”
Next: Harry Winks Loved Every Minute of His First Tottenham Start
With regards to Vincent Janssen and Liverpool, Spurs’ fourth round opponent in the League Cup, Mauricio Pochettino was firm in his answers.
Janssen will now be the first-choice striker moving forward until Harry Kane returns.
“It’s very important for all strikers to feel the net and important to also feel the love from the supporters. After the injury to Harry Kane he’s now our main striker and it’s important he feels happy and confident.”
As for Liverpool, it’ll be a tough game but Spurs have to improve to beat the Reds. A feat that has only been done once in Pochettino’s managerial career since he arrived in England.
“Liverpool at Anfield is an important game. It will be tough but at the same time, we need to enjoy it and try to improve,” Pochettino concluded.