Mauricio Pochettino’s Press Conference: Sunderland vs Tottenham
Pochettino praises Carter-Vickers and Janssen
At just 19-years-old, Cameron Carter-Vickers has slowly been receiving valuable playing time this season during cup fixtures.
All four appearances Carter-Vickers has made have been starts, going the full 90 minutes and generally looking very good and confident either in a three-back or four-back system.
This should come as no surprise for anyone who has kept tabs on the young American center-back throughout his development during Spurs’ academy.
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Against a big striker, size-wise, such as Ade Akinfenwa, this would be a huge task for the Spurs defender (pun not intended).
But despite the challenge laid in front of Carter-Vickers, he stepped up and did a very good job.
“I think it was very important and I am very happy with his performance,” Pochettino said.
“To play against Akinfenwa, not too many centre-backs can fight with him, he’s really a beast and it surprised me because when you watch some videos you say he’s big, he’s a good player, but it surprised me in the way he was.”
“I am very happy with Cameron because he challenged every time with him, it was very difficult to stop him and it’s true that we conceded three goals but you know it was a very special situation and, for me, it’s an experience for him because he’s 19-years-old and it was a massive step to improve and learn.”
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Carter-Vickers isn’t the only player who had a good game against Wycombe Wanderers on Saturday.
Vincent Janssen, coming in at half-time for an injured Georges-Kévin N’Koudou, had a good outing off of the bench for 45 minutes.
Not only did the Dutchman score a crucial penalty to level the game at 2-2 in the 64th minute, but Janssen would setup Son Heung-Min’s game-winning goal in the 97th minute with a great pass to find the South Korean international running into the penalty box.
Despite minimal playing time, if Vincent Janssen can consistently play well like he did two days ago, then he can expect to be called upon more frequently as a super-sub.
“I think the decision was good, to try to pull out the pressure,” Mauricio Pochettino said when he brought in Janssen at half-time.
“He was too much under pressure in the last few weeks, he needs to be relaxed, calm and only train hard. I think it was a good opportunity for him to show his character and personality, take the penalty and score.”
“I am happy and only now we need time to build his trust, his confidence. Be sure that we will give him the possibility to rebuild his trust and confidence.”