Pochettino - Players must grab their opportunity

Regular readers will know I talk about players taking their chance when it arrives, that fans who think a player has to be given a run in the side to see what he can do are wrong.

That is a failure trait. A success trait is being mentally strong enough to make your mark or catch the eye when you are given a cameo appearance. That might be achieved by simply doing what the coach asks you to do. Something as simple as that builds trust, if a coach knows you can follow instructions then he'll have greater faith the next time he is looking for a substitute. he'll then give you longer and give you a chance to show what you can do.

A player knows his role within a system, he knows the role of others. It is his job to do what the coach asks, fulfil his own role and on top of that to make his mark, to show that he can go over and about the average.

"The most important thing is that when they have the opportunity to show their quality, they take it.I t's very good to play this type of game against teams consistently in the Champions League -- the biggest teams in the world. They can show their quality and personality and we can take a lot from these games. 

"A good example was Dele Alli -- he came from MK Dons in League One. After a few months, he took a place in the starting XI. And you know what happened after. He went to the Euros with the national team. The young players have time to mature and improve. They need to take the opportunity."

Those were the words of Mauricio Pochettino. Ugo Ehiogu spoke in similar terms last season suggesting that players have to stamp their mark on a game while performing all the tasks they need to perform within their role and the team environment.

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