Pochettino’s timely break in Qatar after terrible week

MAURICIO POCHETTINO will have some much-needed breathing space as he searches for answers to the worst spell of his Tottenham tenure after travelling to Qatar.

The Spurs manager flew to the Middle East after Saturday’s 3-0 defeat at Brighton and he will spend the next two days at the Aspire Global Summit on football performance, where he was due to deliver a speech today.

The event has been in his diary for several months and the club have no issues with him being in Qatar. It comes at a welcome time, with Pochettino admitting a break would help “to change the air, dynamic and energy” at Spurs after a miserable week. The loss at Brighton followed a 7-2 home defeat by Bayern Munich.

Pochettino, who is due back at Tottenham on Thursday, has been accompanied by his assistant

Jesus Perez, leaving first-team coaches Toni Jimenez and Miguel D’Agostino in charge of a skeleton squad at the start of the international break.

Manchester United, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain — all admirers of Pochettino — are among the clubs to have sent delegations to the conference.

Meanwhile, Hugo Lloris was due to report to the training ground this morning for further assessments after dislocating his elbow in the third minute at