Tottenham vow to come out fighting
Fatigue won’t be an issue despite bruising schedule Ralani set to make PSL debut for City
MAURICIO Pochettino does not believe fatigue will be an issue for Tottenham when they face West Ham in today’s London derby.
Pochettino’s side will host their rivals at Wembley just 48 hours after their 2-0 victory at Swansea on Tuesday, which lifted the visitors above Arsenal into fifth place in the Premier League.
An opening goal from former Swansea striker Fernando Llorente that appeared offside and a late strike from Dele Alli made it six victories in seven matches for Tottenham in all competitions.
But though his players have little time for recovery, Pochettino believes it will be the same for both sides.
West Ham also played on Tuesday, beating West Brom 2-1, and Pochettino said: “I am not going to complain. I think we will arrive in the same condition as West Ham.
“It will be difficult for the players. We will need to rest and maybe make some changes to give fresh legs to the team. But it will be an opportunity for the other players in the squad.
“I know how it (the fixture list) has been. It was impossible to play before this time. We need to rest and make good decisions.”
Pochettino suggested Harry Kane would be fit to start today. The England striker had been suffering from a heavy cold, but came on in the second half at Swansea and it was his pass that created the opening for Alli’s 89th minute goal.
“We will see (about Kane). Our decision was good, because it was difficult to run on that pitch. We hope he will be well and be ready to come back,” Pochettino said.
He will also assess the fitness of fullback Danny Rose, who missed the Swansea match due to a knee injury.
Spurs lost 3-2 to West Ham back in October in the fourth round of the League Cup, after they had held a 2-0 lead.
Pochettino was subsequently criticised for fielding a weakened team, but holds no regrets over his team selection.
“In the League Cup, all the starting 11 had played in the Premier League or the Champions League.
“That (losing the lead) was the massive mistake. We played so badly and conceded goals. But we took the competition very seriously.
“Now, we need to win to fight for the top four. They have improved a lot under David Moyes and it will be a very tough game.”
Pochettino admitted Spurs had gained some good fortune when the officials failed to spot Llorente was in an offside position when he scored the 12th-minute opener.
“I didn’t see the replay, but always in football you need some luck. Overall, I thought we deserved the victory. Maybe they can complain but that is football and it happens,” he said.
Swansea manager Carlos Carvalhal suffered his first defeat in charge, following a 2-1 victory in his first game at Watford on Saturday.
Carvalhal refused to put too much blame on the officials over Llorente’s goal and also for referee Bobby Madley’s decision not to award a second yellow card to Davinson Sanchez for a foul before the defender was substituted.
“Since I arrived in England I have refused to talk about referees,” said Carvalhal. “The official apologised and I understand it was a mistake, but we all make mistakes.
“Pochettino is a clever manager and he took the player (Sanchez) off. He knows why.
“But we played against a very strong team and also we played three days ago, while they played six days ago. It made a massive difference.” — AFP BRADLEY Ralani‚ unknown in South Africa but with seven years of overseas experience‚ is set to make his Premier Soccer League bow at the age of 30.
The striker has been snapped up by Cape Town City‚ who announced his signing yesterday after a month of training with the club.
Ralani has been without a contract since leaving Helsingborg of Sweden at the end of their season in November. He has spent the last seven years in Scandinavia‚ playing in both Denmark and Sweden.
He went to Landskrona in the second division in Sweden where he spent five seasons‚ playing regularly upfront and contributing goals.
Ralani was signed by Lyngby of Denmark thereafter before going back to Helsingborg in the top-flight in Sweden‚ where he was coached by Henrik Larsson‚ the former Swedish international who played at Barcelona and Manchester United.
“Larsson loved him because he is such a skilful player‚” said Farouk Khan‚ who discovered Ralani at his Stars of Africa academy in Johannesburg and sent him overseas.
“He was one of those players who slipped through the net.
“He was at Kaizer Chiefs but they didn’t want him eventually and we sent him to Sweden instead.
“He only came to us at the age of 18 and we needed a while to work on him before he moved on.
“In Kimberley‚ they called him ‘Surprise’ because he was always coming up with something different.
“They say he used to pack out the stadiums there. I think he was unlucky not to be noticed earlier.
“Maybe the coaches before felt he was not physically strong enough‚ but he is a quality player‚” added Khan a coach and now TV analyst.
Ralani could make his debut as early as Saturday night when City travel to meet struggling Platinum Stars at the Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace. — TimesLIVE