Tottenham: Pochettino Talks Spurs’ Form, Alli, and November Fixtures
Mauricio Pochettino talked about numerous topics during his press conference, but the Tottenham manager noted that Sunday could be the turning point of their season.
With one more day to prepare for Sunday’s North London derby, Mauricio Pochettino opened his press conference addressing his team’s injury news.
Afterwards, the 44-year-old gaffer discussed the elephant in the room, Tottenham’s recent form that has seen them go winless in six straight games — four draws and two losses.
Arsenal who have won four and draw once in their last five matches, including a come from behind win on the road against Ludogorets in the Champions League, are flying high at the moment.
So, a question was posed to Pochettino. Would facing Arsenal right now be considered a good thing or a bad thing just before the international break? When taken at face value, this isn’t a trick question.
If anything, it’s a legitimate concern seeing as how a win — which would be great — could be comprised with a two week break immediately following the game.
On the flip side, a draw or loss would give Spurs 13 days to contemplate where they stand in regards to their season. A seven-game winless streak could see changes to the lineup. It could also be the start of a crisis; will Spurs recover or continue to struggle?
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For Pochettino, the answer isn’t that simple. He knows what happened the last time his side played a top four team just before the international break (Manchester City). Spurs were riding high after their win and then their momentum was halted.
Still, the Argentine manager knows that these are the types of games where something has to give and he believes Sunday is the best opportunity to change Tottenham’s fortunes.
“You never know if it’s a good or bad time to play. I will tell you after the game because in football anything can happen! Mauricio Pochettino said (via Spurs’ official website).
“It’s true that we are not in a positive situation, in the six games after Manchester City we have struggled to win games – four draws and two defeats. We are very conscious about that, we need to work hard and try more than before.”
“We are in a difficult moment but in football you always need to be ready to change the dynamic and we have a very good opportunity on Sunday to go to the Emirates and try to win the game.”
Standing in front of Spurs’ way, besides Arsenal of course, are the players’ (perceived, if you will) lack of confidence that has seen a dismal amount of goals be scored. The two, at this point, seem to have gone hand-in-hand.
“It’s true that maybe we are not so confident like after Manchester City but when you are involved in football you know it’s about emotion.” Pochettino explained.
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“When you win, you are always at the top of your emotions and mental level but now it’s a good test for us to try to change that dynamic.”
“In football it always happens but it’s a period that, to be honest, I like, where you have that type of moment to learn, to improve.”
“We assess every game and it’s true that we need to improve in that area [scoring].” Mauricio Pochettino said about his side’s lack of goals.
“It’s not a concern, we are focused now to work a little bit more to try to create more chances because it’s not enough, we need to increase our percentage in front of goal but the only way that can happen is if we create more chances and we have more control of the game.”
As for Dele Alli, he has not been the same player that he was a year ago. It’s anybody’s guess as to what has caused the young midfielder to not be more impactful during games. Though one thing that can’t be overlooked is his age. He is still only 20-years-old.
“I am happy with Dele but he is still very young, he’s 20-years-old, it’s his second season in the Premier League and many things happened last season.” Pochettino said.
“Sometimes he needs to breathe a little bit, he cannot keep the level in every game and then there are many reasons that something happens – [players] have some problems, illness, sometimes they’re not at their best because they are human, but I am very happy with him.”
And finally, November started off on a bad note with a loss to Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League. But that won’t be the only big fixture on tap for Spurs. Not only is Arsenal coming up this Sunday, but Tottenham will face West Ham United and Chelsea, as well as AS Monaco on the road.
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This period of games could be considered a critical moment that could define Spurs’ season even before the halfway point of the 2016-17 campaign. Although Mauricio Pochettino doesn’t exactly see it that way.
“A critical time for us was May or the end of April, a critical period last season.” Pochettino said. “Many things can happen, it depends on how you are.”
“For us it was very difficult after Manchester City last month, we had many, many small problems where it was difficult to keep our level. That happened in October but maybe November and December will be fantastic for us – you never know.”