IN THE GROOVE

Pochettino expects Spurs to show killer instinct

LONDON

Tottenham dropped points early on in home draws with Burnley and Swansea and could only record 1-0 successes at the national stadium, their temporary home this term, against Bournemouth and Crystal Palace in recent weeks.

Now Albion, who sacked manager Tony Pulis following a run of just two wins in 21 Premier League games, will surely try to frustrate the hosts once again.

“It’s true we’ve struggled a little bit with teams that come to Wembley and play deeper,” Pochettino said.

“We need to improve our positional game in (the) last third in the opposition half. Sometimes we need show more patience to build our options to create chances.”

Albion, under the caretaker charge of Gary Megson, had proved to be problematic opponents for Tottenham in the past.

Spurs won this fixture 4-0 last season but the nine games before that resulted in just two Spurs victories, plus six draws.

Albion had been a physical unit under Pulis and Pochettino is not expecting anything different now Megson is picking the team.

“We are going to be ready to fight, because it’s a team that loves to play counter attack,” he said.

“They work very hard on setpieces, they’re very dangerous. We need to work hard to avoid these situations and give them the option to create chances.

“We need to be aggressive with and without the ball. We need to play the game in a way that can benefit our interests.”

Pulis’ departure delighted a majority of West Brom supporters who had become fed up with his route-one style of play, but it did not end the drama at The Hawthorns.

Megson, who returned to the