Spurs set for quiet January

Mauricio Pochettino has said he does not expect any changes to his Tottenham Hotspur squad in January as he tries to galvanise his players amid the “storm” that is affecting the club.

The Tottenham manager said he wanted to “stick with” his existing players as he called for togetherness and revealed that he and his coaches had been invited to a dinner with the players next week.

Tottenham have lost four of their past five matches, leading to accusations of staleness within the squad. Pochettino has spoken of disunity in the team after a summer in which an overhaul of the playing staff failed to materialise.

Ahead of tomorrow’s meeting with Watford, though, Pochettino was strong in his backing of the squad. Asked if there would be changes in January, he said: “No, I don’t believe [so]. I believe in the players that we have, I believe in the players that are at Tottenham.”

Pochettino received a text from one of his players last week, asking him and the coaching staff to join the players at a team dinner.

“Only two things can happen,” Pochettino said. “They want to say goodbye, or they feel that they want to show that they are with you. And I think that it is the second.”

Pochettino is generally against doing business in January and he said he will not push for any transfers, in or out, simply because of the current “storm” around the side.

“I never was keen on January and I will not change now because it is a tough period or tough few games,” he said.