Dele Alli blamed himself in immediate aftermath of Mauricio Pochettino sacking

Dele Alli has admitted that he blamed himself in the immediate hours after Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham Hotspur sacking.

Pochettino handed Alli his Spurs debut back in 2015 and last year claimed the forward was the best 21-year-old in the world.

By his own admission, Alli was far from his best last season, when he was disrupted by injuries, and suffered a slow start to this campaign before improving over the last few weeks.

“When it first happened, you just blame yourself,” said Dele, who is now 23. “You are sad and don’t look at the big picture. We have had some amazing journeys together, we have all grown together, all the players and coaching staff.

“We have achieved a lot in terms of where we have come from. We are thankful to them, you can’t help but feel you are a bit to blame. I gave 110 per cent and sometimes it does not work out. The chairman made his decision. Now as players we have a new manager, we owe the club a lot and we have to start winning games again.”

Dele revealed he has spoken to Pochettino and plans to keep in touch with the Argentine by adding: “I’ve seen him more than I’ve see my own family in the last five years, so it was very tough.

“For sure, he is someone I’m going to stay in contact with. It will be different because he’s not the manager, but he’s an amazing person and helped me so much throughout my career - not just in football but in life as well.”