Rebuilt Spurs reunited with rejected Chadli


Tomorrow sees a reunion with 27-year-old (28 next August) Nacer Chadli and a reminder of the reshaping taking place under Mauricio Pochettino.

While some are happy to settle for mediocrity, Pochettino aims for the top and only keeps hold of players who continue to develop and exhibit the right mentality, whether they are playing as much as they would like or not.

There has been quite a turnaround and the emphasis I suggested we place in assessing a players mentality and character before we signed him is an area we have certainly improved upon. We now look for hungry young players who want to improve and want to achieve things. A player whop wants guaranteed game time is effectively saying he doesn't trust his ability to hold down a place, which is a mental defect.

Players at Tottenham know they must perform, if they do they will stay in the team, if they don't they will be dropped and another squad player hungry to succeed will be given a chance. This season Son Heung-min has grasped his opportunity with both hands. Few Spurs fans would have had him as a first choice starter this season, but he is one of the first names on the teamsheet at the moment. It is up to him to maintain his level of performance and retain that position.

One of the players Pochettino let go, Nacer Chadli, signed a four-year deal at The Hawthorns in the summer after a £13-million move from Tottenham after Mauricio Pochettino had made it clear where he stood in his plans. Chadli was advised he would not be a regular in the team and that he would spend a lot of time on the bench.

We bought the Belgian for £6.93-million so have made a nice profit on him and now he has started well at his new club, scoring 3 goals in 4 games under Tony Pulis. We'll have to watch him at the weekend as he'll no doubt be keen to do well.

Continuing where you left off after a break is not easy so Pochettino has some work to do before tomorrow to have his charges in the right frame of mind.