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Poch: I like home-grown players, they’re honest & more aggressive than foreign youngsters
MAURICIO POCHETTINO will build Tottenham’s brave new world around a nucleus of home-grown talent – because he can’t find the same “aggression’’ in youth players from abroad.
The manager led Spurs to their highest finish in the Premier League era as runners-up to Chelsea, and they left Arsenal in their slipstream for the first time in 22 years.
They were also the top-flight’s highest scorers, boasted the meanest defence, and lost the fewest number of games.
Pochettino will continue to place a heavy emphasis on a core of English talent, after building his side’s identity around Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Kyle Walker, Danny Rose, Kieran Trippier and Harry Winks.
Tottenham licked their wounds on another near miss with the title on an end-of-season trip to Hong Kong and Pochettino has already begun work on his grand design for an assault on the Premier League summit in 2017-18.
The raw hunger of youngsters will be a key ingredient in his pool of talent, and he said: “I like them because they are very honest on the pitch, and they are very aggressive. That aggression is very difficult to find in another country.
“You can add new people and players from the outside, but the main group that comes from the academy is important because that is the identity of the club.”
The Argentine likes the energy of youth because it is compatible with his favoured high-tempo pressing tactic and he said: “That is one quality of our team – our highpressure play is very good.
“When we do not have the ball, we want to recover it quickly and, when we have the ball, we want to play and build it from the back.
“Today is not the same as it was 30 years ago. Now the players are athletes, and you realise the training is not enough if you have only one session every day.
“We understand we need to work hard and you can see the improvement of the players.
“It is very important to create a good dynamic and it is important to create a united feeling from the beginning of each day.”
Tottenham will seek refuge next season at Wembley – where their record in Europe last season was lousy – as their new 61,000-capacity stadium at White Hart Lane takes shape, with the boss hoping to end the club’s 57-year wait for the title.
He added: “It is true, that when you are close to glory, it is difficult to fall short, but I take it all in a positive way.
“It is a big motivation to try again because in football you need to be clever, honest, work hard and always push it.”
Captain Hugo Lloris said: “The next level is to win a trophy. At Tottenham, there is a real identity in the club.
“The fans understand the way we play and are very proud to see young players coming through.”