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Mauricio Pochettino says he still has belief in entire Tottenham squad

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Getty Images

Mauricio Pochettino says he still has belief in his entire Tottenham squad following this afternoon's 3-0 victory over Fulham.

Spurs eased into the quarter finals of the FA Cup thanks to Harry Kane's hat trick, which took the striker's goal tally for the season to 19.

The north Londoners were rarely forced to get out of third gear against their capital rivals as Pochettino's decision to name a strong side, having seen some of his fringe players come up short in recent weeks, was vindicated.

Tottenham's strength in depth has been questioned after defeats to Liverpool and Gent but Pochettino was delighted with his players' reaction to such setbacks - even if they were not included in his starting line-up.

"My intention is always to try and take the best decision for the team and pick the best players.

"It's about quality. I believe in the whole squad - sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. It's about managing 25 players.

"[I made my] decision before yesterday's results. After two defeats many players wanted to play - they didn't feel they were tired."

The gulf in class between the two sides was apparent at full time but Pochettino denied any suggestion that the encounter was a straightforward one.

"After two defeats when you lose it's difficult to turn the feeling. But all the players wanted to take responsibility in a very difficult stadium.

"Fulham are a very good team who try to play. After 3-0 it looks easy but we took the game in a very good way and showed full respect to them," Pochettino insisted.

Up next for Spurs is the second leg of their Europa League last 32 clash against Gent on Thursday night, with Pochettino labelling the clash as a "final" for his team.