Mauricio Pochettino: 'We arrived during a difficult period for Tottenham. I looked at how they had played in the last couple of years and we knew it would take time to process a new philosophy'

Published: 5 October, 2014
by DAN CARRIER at White Hart Lane

Premier League
SPURS 1, SOUTHAMPTON 0

MAURICIO Pochettino praised his players after they overcame in-form Southampton to win by a solitary goal at White Hart Lane this afternoon.

The Spurs manager said the result, following on from a battling away draw at Arsenal., showed his brief time at the club was beginning to produce dividends.

Speaking after the game, he said: “I am happy with our performance. In the last two games, we have showed ourselves to be a team.”

Pochettino, who endured some unpleasant barracking from fans of his former club, said: “We have been here for three months and we are still improving. We arrived during a difficult period for Tottenham. I looked at how they had played in the last couple of years and we knew it would take time to process a new philosophy.”

Pochettino said with Europa League and Capital One Cup games taking up their mid-week timetables, they had not enjoyed as many training sessions as he would have liked.

He said: “With so many games, it makes it more difficult to put what we want into practice. It will take time.”

Both sides looked in form and it led to various half chances in the opening exchanges.  

The closest Spurs went in the first half-hour was a drive by Erik Lamela on 24 minutes. His edge-of-the-box effort was tipped away by Fraser Forster in the Saints goal. The keeper was called on to make a carbon-copy stop on 36 minutes when Christian Eriksen slammed in a similar effort. It suggested Spurs were beginning to enjoy some dominance.  

Then, as the half entered the last five minutes, Emmanuel Adebayor won an aerial duel, brought the ball down and cantered into space. His neat pass inside found Nacer Chadli, who laid it off for Eriksen. The Dane had time to pick his spot.  

Moments later, it was nearly two: Lamela was the instigator and his incisive ball saw Chadli power in. He drew the keeper but his effort bounced off a post.  

Southampton came out in the second period with determination but Spurs, marshalled by the in-form Etienne Capoue, looked solid and organised.  

On 63 minutes, a fierce shot from Victor Wanyama tested Hugo Lloris while, at the other end, Chadli had an effort blocked by a last-ditch Ryan Bertrand tackle.

It was Tottenham's first win in five and first clean sheet for six games. They move to joint fourth in the table. Pochettino believes progress is being made, and on today's performance, he is right.  

SPURS: Lloris, Rose, Kaboul, Vertonghen, Adebayor, Lamela (Kane, 90), Naughton (Dier, 32), Chadli, Eriksen (Dembele, 80), Capoue, Mason.
Subs: Vorm, Soldado, Dier, Townsend, Kane, Dembele, Fazio.
Attendance: 35,564

SPURS COMMENT by Dan Carrier

THE full White Hart Lane debut of Ryan Mason was a happy affair. He slipped seamlessly into a central midfield role and looked like he'd been there forever.

It is always nice to see a boy from Enfield, who joined the club as a trainee, break into the first team. Following on from his Capital One Cup goal against Nottingham Forest, and then his energetic game at Arsenal, Mason showed how hard it is for Pochettino to drop him. He fought hard and when he did get the ball, opted for a positive pass rather than something that would keep possession but not provide momentum. It showed confidence and composure – nice to see from the youngster. 

Pochettino said afterwards Mason showed the attitude of an experienced player, and in a congested squad of midfielders, he'll be hard to drop.

He comes from a crop that includes Danny Rose, Andros Townsend, Harry Kane and Tom Carroll.

How wonderful it would be if the one-time youth players could provide a homegrown core in the coming years.