Pochettino: Developing players for England is my way of saying 'thank you'

Mauricio Pochettino says his passion for developing homegrown players is born out of a desire to repay England for welcoming him and making him feel at home.

The Argentinian has a proven history of producing stars for the national team, both with Southampton and Tottenham, with Harry Winks becoming the 15^th player to be coached by Pochettino and then play for the Three Lions.

“It is the identity of the team, of the country,” said the Spurs manager. “For me, because I left my country when I was very young, it is to say ‘thank you’.

“I feel when I arrived in Spain and now in England that in this way we can say ‘thank you’ to the country that opened the door, when I didn’t speak English, and for how people treated me, my family and my staff. It’s a way to say ‘thank you’ to the Premier League and the people who trust in you.

“You must assess [the players] in every country that you arrive in, and where people open the door. For me, when we arrived here five years ago it was a little bit of a taboo – ‘oh, young players do not play. We don’t have the same talent as in Spain, or Argentina, Brazil’.

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“We didn’t say anything. We didn’t say ‘yes’ or not. We only started to watch and we thought ‘oh, you have the same talent’. You must believe in your talent and provide the platform to show they are capable of playing at a good level.

“We started to work and tried to prove that English talent is like in Spain or in Argentina or Brazil, and we started to believe.

“We love to give the possibility to the youngsters and help them to achieve their dreams, and then they deserve to be proud because they work hard and took the opportunity.

“The English player is so talented. There’s no doubt about that. It’s only about your vision and how you perceive them, and then how you provide them with the platform and the tools to play and to perform.”

While Winks is just beginning his senior international career, Dele Alli is already an established figure for England – but Pochettino admits the 21-year-old is not in his best form at the moment.

Nonetheless, he feels this period could be useful for the youngster, helping him to emerge even stronger on the other side.

“I’m not concerned,” said the Spurs manager. “It’s true that it’s a difficult period. He cannot play in the Champions League and he was banned with the national team.

“It’s a not-too-solid period for him, but it’s normal. He’s 21. There are no doubts about him because he’s a very talented player. His character, everything, makes him a very special player and he needs only time to start to have performances like before.

“He’s very conscious about everything now. Sometimes it’s good to feel that you’re human, and for him it’s sure that that situation helps him to improve.

“That is about being more mature. For two seasons he was on the top of the hill. Maybe now he needs to moderate. I think it’s part of being a great player. That kind of situation can and will help him to be better.”

Danny Rose will hope to rejoin Tottenham’s England contingent ahead of the 2018 World Cup as he closes in on a return to first-team action after a knee injury that has ruled him out since January – and Pochettino is aware that both he and Erik Lamela, whose absence has been even longer, have had to wage tough mental battles.

“It’s so difficult when you’re involved, feeling the love, playing football and then after one injury you’re on the corner for nearly one year and no-one looks to you or speaks about you,” said Pochettino. “That is so difficult for the player, to [keep the] drive and hunger.

“Sometimes different players, because they are different characters, they explode or they are sad. The motivation in some situations in general can be depressive.

“That is why today both are so happy, because they are involved in the dynamic of the group.”

Asked if that mental challenge is why Pochettino has given Rose a second chance, after his outspoken newspaper interview in August, Spurs’ manager joked: “I think it’s the 10th chance in three seasons!”

Meanwhile, Pochettino has elaborated on his criticism of Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola.

On Friday afternoon Spurs’ manager voiced his displeasure at Guardiola’s description of Tottenham as “the Harry Kane team” just before the international break, labelling the comment “disrespectful” and sad”.

“I don’t know why he said it,” Pochettino added. “I don’t know why he showed more respect to Manchester United, because in the same way he could have said ‘the Lukaku team’. But he said ‘Manchester United’ and ‘Mourinho’, and then he said it was ‘the Harry Kane team’.

“I cannot come here and justify him and say ‘it was only a joke’. If it’s a personal problem with me then I can say yes or no, but when it’s about the club then it’s different because you know how the fans and the club, we’re working to try to create a club which is bigger than before, and that is an emotional thing.

“If it was [said] with intention, I don’t understand. If it was a mistake, then I am more than sad, because for me he is a very clever person, very intelligent. He’s not where he is because he’s stupid. He’s so clever, so intelligent and to make that mistake makes me very sad.

“I don’t know [if it was deliberate], you must ask him, not me. I can only speak about what I hear and see. I cannot guess what his intention was, whether it was a mistake.”

Guardiola previously managed a Barcelona side including Lionel Messi, and Pochettino continued: “When people told me about [his comment], I said: ‘no, it’s not possible’. Why? Because I understand very well that if you are at Barcelona and you have Messi in your team there is a temptation to say that you win, or you won, because of Messi.

“But always I have been a football person, a manager, who defends and supports the job of the manager, of Pep.

“I say ‘ok, Messi is very good, Iniesta is very good, Puyol is very good, Xavi is very good, but without organisation, without a great job from the manager, it is difficult to win. I know that very well and that’s why I was always supportive.

“When people said ‘nah, it’s Messi’ I said ‘no, no, no. Ok Messi is one of the best, but Guardiola is a great manager’. That’s why it surprised me and made me sad, that after a great win at Chelsea, he then says the ‘Harry Kane team’.”

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