Pochettino confident Tottenham strong enough to face Hammers
FATIGUE will not be an issue for Tottenham when they face West Ham in tonight’s London derby, team manager Mauricio Pochettino said yesterday.
His side host the rivals at the Wembley Stadium just 48 hours after a 2-0 victory at Swansea on Tuesday night, which lifted the visitors above Arsenal into fifth place in the English 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 on Tuesday.
But even though his players had little time for recovery, Pochettino said it would be the same for both sides.
West Ham also played on Tuesday night, 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 maybe need to make some changes to give fresh legs to the team. But it will be an opportunity for the others in the squad.
“I know how it [the fixture list] has been. We need to rest and make good decisions.”
Pochettino suggested Harry Kane would be fit to start tonight.
The England striker had been suffering from a 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]. We hope he will be well and ready,” Pochettino said.
The Tottenham manager will also assess fullback Danny Rose, who missed the Swansea match due to a knee injury.
Spurs lost 3-2 to West Ham 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 he insisted tonight’s match was not about revenge and that he held no regrets over his team selection.
“It’s not about revenge. It’s an important game for us. In the League Cup, all that starting 11 had played in the Premier League or the Champions League.
“That [losing the lead] was the massive mistake. We wanted to win, but 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. If we are 2-0 up at half time then we need to be clever.
“They [West Ham] have improved a lot under David Moyes and it will be a very tough game.”
Pochettino admitted Spurs had gained some good fortune after the officials failed to spot Llorente was in an offside position when he scored the 12th-minute opener against Swansea.
“I didn’t see the replay, but always in football you need some luck. But overall, I thought we deserved the victory,” he said.
Swansea manager Carlos Carvalhal had his first defeat in charge, following a 2-1 win 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,” Carvalhal said.
“The official apologised and I understand it was a mistake, we all make mistakes.
“Pochettino is a clever manager and took the player [Sanchez] off. He knows why.
“But we played against a very strong team and also we played three days before, while they played six days ago.
“It made a massive difference.” –