Snubbed by boss, Rose’s England spot looks at risk

JUST as the fury was starting to subside and Danny Rose was coming to terms with his omission from the North London derby, Mauricio Pochettino left him out again.

It is hard to imagine that Rose found this any easier to swallow as he was ordered to work on fitness with Erik Lamela rather than help his Tottenham team-mates as they drew with West Bromwich.

Having played 90 minutes in midweek against Borussia Dortmund and spoken with admirable honesty about his anger at missing the defeat at Arsenal, here was another jolt back to the reality of his predicament.

The England left-back, first choice at Euro 2016, cannot get into Pochettino’s team and is concerned about losing his place in the World Cup squad.

‘Like another player, no issue,’ said Pochettino frostily when the matter was raised after the game. ‘Was training like another.’

In truth, Rose’s form has been poor since he returned after 10 months out with a knee ligament injury.

Unsurprisingly, he seems short of match-sharpness and it is impossible to criticise Pochettino for selecting Ben Davies, solid and dependable, as the better of his two options at left-back.

What is surprising is the manager’s determination to freeze him out of the matchday squad completely.

Against West Brom, the Spurs boss picked two full-backs among his seven substitutes, Serge Aurier and Kyle Walker-Peters, both of them right-sided. There was no naturally left-sided player on the bench. Perhaps Rose’s time is better spent at the training ground — and he is likely to be back in the team at Leicester on Tuesday — but he is firmly behind Davies in the pecking order and will be aware that Pochettino (right) is not above holding grudges.

Younes Kaboul, Etienne Capoue, Paulinho and Andros Townsend can all testify how difficult it can be to get back into Pochettino’s affections once he has given a player the cold shoulder. When Kyle Walker dared to ask for a move while Spurs were chasing the title, the manager did not react well. There were no clues then from the Spurs boss when asked about Walker, only straight-bat answers, until he released his book ‘Brave New World’ about life behind the scenes at Tottenham and wrote: “I considered it to be an alarming lack of respect for his team-mates and a slap in the face for the club.” Walker gradually played a little less and Kieran Trippier played a little more until a point when it became clear Walker was bound for Manchester City.

Like Walker, Rose has made it plain he wants to leave and in midweek spoke about his commitment to helping the club win something this season.

Beyond that, he is aware of interest from Manchester United and Chelsea, which is based on the assumption he is still the player he was before the serious injury.

If Rose’s Tottenham career is set on a similar trajectory to Walker’s, it cannot be good for his World Cup ambitions.