A defiant Mauricio Pochettino now needs his players to step up for the visit of Southampton on Saturday. A two-goal lead thrown away against Olympiacos, a two-one reverse to Leicester City and an abysmal performance in the Carabao Cup against Colchester have all led to pressure on the Spurs boss.
Ahead of the visit of Southampton to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday, Pochettino was in a defiant mood in his pre-match press conference.
Defiant Mauricio Pochettino Keen to Get Back on Track
Time For the Players to Step Up
When asked if he was the right man to lead Tottenham out of their current slump, the Argentine said;
“Yes, I believe I am. If I didn’t think I was, you would have found out quickly.”
Tottenham fans will be pleased with this statement and Pochettino was bullish and seems more than prepared to ride out the current storm.
It is the players though who need to step up their game. There have been too many poor individual performances so far. Christian Eriksen has been linked all summer with a move away from Tottenham and started the first game of the season against Aston Villa warming the bench. It was he who turned the game back in Spurs’ favour. Yet since he has been poor. Lacking energy and looking disinterested in anything happening around him. Passes going astray and set pieces not finding the goal or a Tottenham player. The likes of Real Madrid didn’t feel Eriksen was good enough in the summer to make the move and if he is not careful he will find himself struggling to get a game anywhere.
Mauricio Pochettino said after the defeat to Colchester on penalties that there were issues in the dressing room;
Pochettino stopped short of naming players but it would be hard to not concede he was pointing to Eriksen in particular.
Tottenham Team News
Tottenham’s starting eleven is anyone’s guess. Will Pochettino tell Eriksen to get out there and prove he still does care or will he decide that enough is enough; if he doesn’t want to play, he won’t be selected to play. Serge Aurier is expected to start again at right-back after Kyle Walker-Peters failed to take his chance against Colchester.
Lucas Moura’s stock has fallen dramatically since his hat trick against Ajax. Maybe Pochettino’s decision to drop Moura for the Champions League Final after that heroic night has tempered his desire for the manager.
Oliver Skipp also fluffed his lines with a poor performance against Colchester and Dele Alli looks a shadow of the player that joined Spurs and set the Premier League on fire.
Southampton Team News
Saints are unlikely to make any major changes. Although Danny Ings could be rewarded with a start after his brace against rivals Portsmouth in the Carabao Cup in midweek.
James Ward Prowse will again be the one to watch for Southampton.
Prediction
Southampton did in midweek what Spurs failed to do. They put to the sword a fourth-tier team with ease as should be expected of a Premier League club when they put four past rivals Portsmouth.
Tottenham need to win. Anything less will just further the pressure mounting at Spurs. A defiant Mauricio Pochettino has made his commitment to sorting out the issues and now he has to put his faith in his players to get on with the job of winning football matches.
Predicted Result – 4-2
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