Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino is prepared to field a weakened team in tonight’s game…
Tottenham fans could be left fuming, after manager Mauricio Pochettino declared he’s not afraid to name a weakened team for Wednesday evening’s Captial One Cup quarter-final against Newcastle United.
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The Spurs’ boss was heavily criticised for making six changes to his Southampton side, who were then beaten by Sunderland in the FA Cup fifth round last season. But, according to reports in the Daily Mirror, it seems he is more than prepared to do the same again.
He said: “When you are the coach, you have all the information and if you win, you are the best and if you don’t, you are a s**t who made the wrong decision.
“When I go away and we [Southampton] lose to Sunderland, I received a lot of criticism that I felt we didn’t deserve. When you lose, you need to accept the criticism and we understand that it is not just a game but a business – we are ready for that, no problem.
“For me, that criticism last season was a lack of respect for my players. If we have players on the squad, it is because we believe in them. If not, why are the players in the squad? We lost, but we deserved to win away at Sunderland, we created a lot of chances.
“Against Newcastle, we play the best players to try to go to the semi-final. It’s is not about names, it’s about the squad. All players are important because I have confidence in all players. For tomorrow, the players we will play is the best starting eleven to try to go to the semi-final.
“But always when you lose, people take something to criticise you. At the beginning of the season, we played a lot of games, 26 official games. I think all players have had the chance to play, in different games – Premier League, Capital One Cup and Europa League.
“For tomorrow, maybe one player is tired and not fresh, and if another team-mate is in better condition, then why not? But I am a manager and I need to make a decision. You cannot pick a team to guarantee that we go to the semi-final.”
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