Call us soft, divers… am I bothered?
DELE ALLI has hit back at accusations that Tottenham players are “soft” after the club demanded improvements to Rochdale’s pitch ahead of their FA Cup fifth-round clash on Sunday.
After becoming the first away team to come from two goals down at the Juventus Stadium to snatch a result in the Champions League on Tuesday, the England midfielder says Mauricio Pochettino’s side are ready to face up to their League One opponents on any surface they like.
“We’re not soft,” he said. “A lot of us grew up playing on worse pitches than that. A lot of us grew up playing on concrete and surfaces like that so I don’t think the pitch is a problem.
“We’ve just got to go there and be professional and put on a good performance to win the game. It’s going to be a very difficult night for us.
“It’s important we don’t go there and think it’ll be an easy game. We know it’s not.
“We saw that against Newport – it was a difficult game and we had to play them in a replay at our place and get the win there.” Alli has had the benefit of playing at Spotland before, featuring in a 3-2 win in his penultimate game for MK Dons in April 2015 before joining Tottenham.
“I can’t really remember it,” he said. “I’m a different guy now. It’s going to be a tough game and we’ve got to make sure we’re ready for it.”
After the initial backlash over Pochettino’s comments, the pitch is being relaid this week, but Rochdale fans are unlikely to hold much truck if Alli goes to ground too easily – not after he was shown his third yellow card for simulation during the recent 2-2 draw at Liverpool. Alli was heavily criticised on social media and elsewhere, but it is water off a duck’s back for the 21-year-old.
“I’m not focused on that, I’m focusing on the football,” Alli said. “I don’t get brought into whatever people are saying, I just keep playing.
“I am not surprised at the fuss. People always react to things. I just want to keep improving as a player. I try not to let anything bother me. I just keep going and focusing on the team.”
There has been plenty of attention, too, on Pochettino, not least in speculation linking him with a move to Spain and specifically Real Madrid. Christian Eriksen, though, says the Spurs dressing room have no concerns as they believe the Argentinian, under contract until 2021, will want to finish the project he has started.
“What he is building here he would like to be part of,” said Eriksen. “That’s what he showed when he signed the new deal, a longterm deal. Of course there will be interest from other clubs because he’s doing really well and hopefully he’ll stay.”