Daily Mirror

FLAK OF THE NET

Poch hits back at Rose over ‘Google’ jibe and says: No one knew me either

- BY DARREN LEWIS

MAURICIO POCHETTINO has claimed Tottenham fans would have had to Google him when he arrived in English football.

The Argentine was responding to a call from Danny Rose for signings that fans would not have to search for on the internet. Rose has since apologised.

But Pochettino moved to reassure supporters concerned that his England left-back was right. Tellingly, the Spurs boss made his point in Spanish, anxious to tread carefully with the club desperate to keep a lid on the issue.

He said: “When you sign players like Eric Dier, who are internatio­nals today, nobody knew... or Dele Alli who was in League One, or N’Golo Kante...

“With some of the internatio­nal players today, maybe one or two years ago, none of us knew them very well.

“Also, when I first arrived here five years ago, people said, ‘Who is Pochettino?’ I’m sure they used Google or Yahoo to find out.”

Pochettino, an accomplish­ed Argentina defender, managed at Espanyol for three years, before replacing Nigel Adkins at Southampto­n four years ago. Chairman Daniel Levy took him to White Hart Lane in 2014.

The manager maintained the row would not rip the dressing-room apart – despite the fact Kyle Walker has gone, Dier is unhappy and Toby Alderweire­ld has yet to sign a new deal.

Should the side fail to adapt to playing home games at Wembley and finish outside the top four, the likes of Alli (left) could be vulnerable in a year’s time. The Spurs boss said: “The team are very united. You (the press) have access to the other players, so you can ask them.”

Tottenham are still the only club yet to make a signing this summer, with all their title rivals spending big. But Pochettino’s men have finished above Manchester City in each of the last two seasons and above United in three of the last four.

He added: “I’m not worried. I don’t want to compare us with other clubs, who have made signings before us in the previous two seasons, and we have finished above them.”

In a statement, Rose said: “My words were not meant to offend. For that, I would like to apologise to the chairman, manager, my team-mates and the fans.”

 ??  ?? FACE THE FACTS.. Spurs boss Pochettino with Danny Rose, who wants more money and for the club to sign more big names
FACE THE FACTS.. Spurs boss Pochettino with Danny Rose, who wants more money and for the club to sign more big names

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