Wembley ‘the best’ insists Pochettino

TOTTENHAM boss Mauricio Pochettino believes Wembley is the ‘best place in the world to play football’, despite Danny Rose’s claim that it is no longer an honour to play there.

On Wednesday, only 33,012 saw Tottenham’s 3-1 victory against Southampton, a 10,000 drop on the previous low — 43,268 against Cardiff in October — and Rose said: ‘It’s not nice. I don’t feel it’s an honour to play at Wembley.’

But Pochettino replied: ‘I am so happy to play at Wembley. I was born in Argentina. When I heard of England for the first time, it was about the Falklands and it was a very sad time. I arrived in Southampton and changed my mind in how I see this country.

‘We compare Argentina with Spain and Italy, but I feel we have more in common with English people. We love football like you and grow up hearing about Wembley. I played in 2000 with Argentina and it was a dream come true.’

Pochettino, whose side travel to Leicester today, criticised England boss Gareth Southgate for playing Kieran Trippier at the World Cup. Trippier was injured in the semifinal against Croatia yet played in the third-place play-off against Belgium three days later.

Trippier has been injury-hit since then and Pochettino said: ‘Three days. It’s a little weird, no?’