Mauricio Pochettino was in strong form in his press conference yesterday. Buoyed by the bonus of a big win, yet frustrated by the speculation about his future, his mood shifted from happy to sad and back again. In the embargoed section of the press conference he really got into gear, and made some very strong comments about some of his players, somewhat unprompted....CONTINUE READING THE ARTICLE FROM THE SOURCE
Asked a pretty innocent question about whether Christopher Nkunku and Levi Colwill and their status for the game on Sunday, Pochettino turned the question around and said that no player should be expecting to step right back into the team, unless they were willing to work like the XI on the pitch last night did:
“The players coming back from injury, they know, and now they’re really going to feel [the competition for places]. They need to make the effort. Just because you’re a big name doesn’t mean you have the right to play, and play the way they want,” Pochettino warned.
“The most important thing is to work for the team, giving your best… if you don’t compete, or your level is 50%, it’s better to have a lesser player competing at 100%.”
This felt very much aimed at Nkunku, given the coach’s comments about his effort earlier in the season:
“He needs also to understand he has to push himself. He needs to make double effort because he must have an impact,” the Argentine warned back at Christmas.
It’s a shame it’s come to this – it all started so brightly in the summer when Nkunku was the creative hub we had been dreaming he would be. Since then it’s been a rapid decline.
Constant injuries didn’t help, but there’s no getting around the fact that even in the period he was fit in February, he flat out lost his place in the team. Let’s hope this boot up the backside is just what he needs.