Poch desperate to avoid history repeating itself

MAURICIO POCHETTINO admitted to feeling pride after his half-time team-talk at the north London derby was described by Danny Rose as “the best thing he had seen in football”.

But it will be actions that speak louder than words in Dortmund tonight as Tottenham try to keep the jitters at bay and avoid the disaster that befell them here almost three years ago. That 3-0 Europa League defeat is part of what Pochettino sees as his squad’s coming of age – the transformation he has nurtured from a team struggling to get into the Champions League to one that harbours dreams of winning it.

That, of course, is a long way down the line and will involve a huge slice of luck of the draw. But that is the belief Pochettino is now able to plant in the minds of his players. “It makes me feel very proud to hear Danny say that,” he said. “The message we wanted to translate was for a massive effort in the second half. “Always the coaches we not only try to provide players with best tools, with the motivational side too and if they got the message in the way he explained it’s beautiful. If they felt that, I feel proud.” from MATTHEW DUNN in Dortmund

According to Rose, the speech was much more uplifting than the ear-bashing served up to Dortmund’s players by their consultant and club legend Matthias Sammer after Friday’s 2-1 defeat to relegation-threatened Augsburg.

“The players are immature,” he said on Eurosport. “Games like this are won in your head, not on the pitch.

“It’s not that they don’t want it, it’s just that you feel that some of them are fighting for their lives while others just think it would be nice to win the game.”

Eyes

England international Jadon Sancho was among those singled out for criticism despite the former Manchester City starlet setting the Bundesliga alight earlier in the season.

Inevitably all eyes will be on the teenager again. Although Spurs defender Ben Davies, the man charged with the responsibility of trying to keep him quiet, was adamant that there are no special plans to deal with him.

“From what I have seen, heard and read he has been excellent out there,” said the Wales international.

“We don’t get to watch too many of the games live but when you look at his stats, they’re unbelievable for a player who couldn’t get in his first team in England.

“To have the guts and willingness to go out to Germany to prove himself is not easy.

“There are not too many youngsters who would have done that. But we don’t do too much