Pochettino sent Spurs troops ‘to war’ to rescue a point, says Rose

DANNY ROSE described Mauricio Pochettino’s half-time team talk in Saturday’s north London 1-1 derby draw with Arsenal as “one of the best things I have witnessed in football”, as he revealed how the Tottenham Hotspur manager sent his players “to war” in the secondhalf.

Spurs were trailing to Aaron Ramsey’s early goal and facing a third consecutive defeat before a Harry Kane equaliser and a late Hugo Lloris penalty save rescued a crucial point.

Pochettino had stormed down the tunnel towards the dressing room before the first-half had finished and Rose revealed that the Spurs manager exchanged his usually calm team talk for a more “passionate” approach.

“We were on the back of a really difficult week,” said Rose. “There’s no added motivation (needed) going into a north London derby, but we can’t hide from the fact we were beaten at Burnley and Chelsea in the previous two games, so there was more added pressure.

“The manager said some things at half-time and that was the turning point. He is normally really calm, but this time he was really passionate. I felt as if I was literally going into war after the team talk that he gave.

Rocket

“It’s literally one of the best team talks I have been involved in since I have been playing football.

“We are not used to losing two games in a row. Something needs to change somewhere. Whether we need a rocket up our backsides, I think he just tried a different approach.

“It really got me firing. It made me want to fight for him, fight for my team-mates and fight for my club,” he added.

“Some people can either take to that or go the other way and I love seeing things like that.”

The nature of the point, including the way they survived PierreEmerick Aubameyang’s late penalty, will lift the mood at Spurs ahead of the second leg of their round-of-16 Champions League tie against Borussia Dortmund tomorrow, which they lead 3-0 from the first leg.

For Arsenal, this was one of their most encouraging away performances of the season. They displayed a defensive solidity that has been missing on the road against the biggest teams in recent years.

“The spirit of the team was perfect,” said defender Sokratis, who excelled in the centre of Arsenal’s defence.

“Before the game our manager said that this would be our strong point today, the spirit. We played good, we had a good plan.” (© The Daily Telegraph)