Pochettino: I could be gone from Spurs next week

Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino has admitted he could be gone from his job by next week after saying his players are facing something “like a trauma” following their poor results.

Spurs have lost three games in a row – the worst spell in his time at the club – and he is preparing his side for Saturday’s tricky away game against Brighton.

After that comes Watford in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday, which will controversially take place in Milton Keynes.

While acknowledging that he faces an uncertain future, he nevertheless cut a bullish figure.

READ MORE: Sergio Aguero signs Manchester City extension until 2021

READ MORE: Why Klopp would be wrong to rest Salah against Saints

READ MORE: Brighton star admits to battle with depression last season

Pochettino said: “I am going to stick with the club, I am not going to criticise the club. All the decisions are our decisions and of course always with the club until the end.

“Maybe we are still here in five years or maybe in one week we are not here, but we will always be talking well about the club and helping them to achieve all they want.

“The only way we can stop that is winning games and if we don’t win, everyone is going to criticise more than now. And you know what is going to happen when we don’t win games — the first responsible is me.

“I am so relaxed. In football, something can happen with the situation but I am going to give my best until the end.

“It’s true, we concede a lot. It’s something we talk a lot about but sometimes: you talk a lot and then it happens again, it’s like you create a trauma.

“The way we concede the goals is so painful but it happens in football and we need to be strong. It’s so important to keep our belief. I’m sure we will win games. The group is a little bit anxious, of course, about winning games.”

Pochettino also stated that Hugo Lloris will be out of the Brighton clash after failing to recover from his thigh injury, and raised the possibility that the stress of his recent arrest for drink driving may have contributed to the problem.

Pochettino explained: “I think he was under stress during the game against Manchester United.

“I think the injury and with the added stress maybe created that injury.

“The injury now is helping him to take time and think and be a little bit more relaxed. To compete after what happened was a massive stress for him.”

Listen to Yahoo Sport’s History of the Heavyweight Championship podcast with Steve Bunce, available now on iOS or Android.