AXE HURT SO MUCH
Sissoko ready to wow Poch
MOUSSA SISSOKO has vowed to get back in Mauricio Pochettino’s good books after a nightmare start to his Tottenham career.
Sissoko, a £30m deadline day signing from Newcastle, was axed from the squad completely for last month’s defeat by Chelsea.
Boss Pochettino was brutal in his assessment when asked why, saying: “You sign a player and then you expect something, and you don’t find what you expected.”
Sissoko made his first start in the Premier League since October in Wednesday night’s 3-0 win over Hull and gave a much-improved performance.
Demands
And the France international claims he is finally getting the hang of the demands of Pochettino’s pressing game.
He said: “The manager said what he thinks. For me it was the same, just to come into training and try to give my best.
“I know what I can do for the team. I know my level. I just needed some time to be ready because it was a big change for me.
“To come here, it was not easy because a lot of things happened. I signed late, I didn’t have any preparation, a new system, a new job, so a lot of change.
“Now I understand everything and everything is better for me, and that’s good.
“Everything was difficult when I came here. The intensity of the training and the style of how he wants us to play – a lot of things.
“That was a big change for me because in my old team it was totally different. I needed to understand his philosophy, but now it is OK.
“I know what he wants, I know what to do, and that’s what I will do. Every manager has his style of training ® so now I understand everything.”
Sissoko also revealed that ruthless Pochettino told him he was out of the squad for the Chelsea game the day before.
But he has vowed to make sure he is a fixture in the first team after putting his bad spell behind him.
Sissoko said: “I just need to keep working at training and hopefully be in the squad for every game.”
Full-back Danny Rose admits Spurs have been well below their best this season, but has warned their title rivals they are ready to step up the pace.
He said: “It’s fair to say we are probably still in third gear compared to last season.
“Can we still win the title? I don’t see why not. We’re in the hunt and probably only playing at 60 per cent.”