Harry’s saved me from chop
MAURICIO POCHETTINO has revealed that Harry Kane saved him from the Tottenham axe.
The Argentine has transformed Spurs into title contenders in his three seasons in charge. It seems unimaginable but he says he could have been sacked with the team struggling in the bottom half of the table in November 2014.
He was left fearing for his job in only his 10th Premier League game in charge when his star striker popped up with a late winner at Aston Villa.
Pochettino said: “For us it was an amazing goal because it meant for us, for everyone, the possibility to stay here.
“It’s true, the team were 14th or 13th and we were a little bit under pressure because the team were not winning games.
Carry
“Always in football, when you don’t get good results, the first to be sacked is the manager.
“The first 10 games are most important. That is why that goal allowed us to carry on working and try to change the club.
“We were in the first season at Tottenham and people on day one, when I signed the contract, said, ‘Ok, maybe in a few months we have a new face in front of us’.
“Maybe I can find many other goals that were fantastic, but for me the goals are related to the emotion at that time.”
Pochettino has now turned Tottenham into a major force in English football and Kane is in red-hot form with four goals in the last week.
The Spurs boss is even replaying videos of Kane’s goals to the squad and telling them to learn from their hotshot.
Ahead of today’s home clash with Swansea, Pochettino said: “Today I showed the team the first goal that he scored at 2-1 against Borussia Dortmund, how he first fought with two defensive players and then scored.
“I think because only he is so fit he can do this. He is so hungry to score and help the team.
“That is the most important thing for us – to inspire the players not to lose their hunger.”
Meanwhile, Pochettino is still unsure when Danny Rose will return.
The England left-back has been out since January with a knee injury and worryingly has been compared to Erik Lamela, who has been sidelined for 11 months.
When asked if he has pencilled in a return date, Pochettino said: “No, it’s like the case of Lamela. I’m a coach and not a doctor, and they know better than me.
“We assess them every day, but we cannot give a date to start training.
“Of course I suffer because, like with Lamela, you always want different players available.”