Players are employed to train, not to play


Players Are Employed To Train, Not To Play




The latest article from the Daily Mirror quoting Mauricio Pochettino is very revealing. What did he say?

“I am very grateful to the club, to the fans and to Daniel. When you are in a difficult situation, this is the moment when you need to show that you are there. 
“It is easy when everything is good to be there but, when the winter is coming, it’s easy to run away. 
“I want to be there in the frontline ­fighting and trying to compete with all the ­circumstances that, today, are in the club. 
“I feel the responsibility to be here and that is why I am here. 
“I am happy and think ­Tottenham gave us a lot of things that we will always be grateful for. So it was a moment to say, ‘We are going to be with you all, fighting in these circumstances’ – we knew what was going to happen. 
“I feel the ­responsibility to be here. That’s why I am here, but also because I am happy. 
“Tottenham gave us a lot of things – my family, assistant Jesus Perez, everyone – when we ­arrived here four years ago. 
“We will always be grateful. It was a moment to say that I will be with you all, fighting.”

Regular readers will recall this recent article:
Pochettino Doesn't Think Like A Fan, He Has A Winning Mentality

The anti-Levy haters think Pochettino thinks like them, some were saying he'll resign. Their hatred is clouding their judgement.

From the day he arrived, I have been shouting this is a man of loyalty, it's one reason why we employed him. He left Southampton because a new chairman came in and changed the project. Look at where they are now, from being a team challenging the top six, from being the next Everton.

Pochettino knows the problems, the constraints at Tottenham, knows everything doesn't run smooth, knows to take us from where we were to where we want to be, there will be difficult moments and hurdles to overcome.

A winning mentality is not put off by hurdles, they don't moan and groan about them, they look for solutions, they find a way. Indeed a manager in any business should know where to go to get the information he doesn't have and implement it. Who you know not what you know.

Daniel Levy sought out and appointed Mauricio Pochettino because he had answers on the field, rather than chequebook answers. Tottenham doesn't yet have the chequebook.

The club are in a difficult situation he says and points out this is no time to run away, which he could easily have done for a chequebook at Real Madrid.

He was handed the task of building the playing side of Tottenham while Daniel Levy builds the business. He has got rid of the wrong mentalities and the deadwood and changed the mindset to a positive one, through the use of hungry youngsters and a set, though flexible, playing system,

That task is nowhere near completed.

He isn't going to get an opportunity to build a club in this manner again probably, very few managers actually get the chance to stay at a club as long as Sir Alex Ferguson or Arsene Wenger.


Some players, if they are not the first choice, sulk which means they can't produce their best, but if they are sulking on the training ground then they are not going to get picked anyway.

Some rant or try to lay the law down to the manager, which means they are not channelling their energies in the right direction so are not going to get picked. Some will sit down and have a quiet word, seeking advice on what areas of their game they need to work on, while others will give it 100% in training to show the manager they should be playing and they are ready to play.

The latter group are the group with the greatest chance of playing.


Mauricio Pochettino only wants people who are 100% committed to what he is doing at Tottenham and if you are not totally behind him and his methods then you can leave the club, whoever you are.

Vincent Janssen, Toby Alderweireld and Danny Rose and three such players. Daniel Levy isn't going to simply just give them away though, he is still going to demand his pound of flesh because that is what is best for Tottenham.

COYS

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