Published: 21 January, 2016
by DAN CARRIER

SPURS cruised into the fourth round of the FA Cup last night (Wednesday) after seeing off Leicester City in a midweek replay – and manager Mauricio Pochettino said after the match the result fired a warning to rivals for the top league spots that Spurs have the squad to go the distance on multiple fronts.

Pochettino used the tie to rest key players against a Leicester side who have proven tricky opponents, beating Spurs in the league last week. But Tottenham’s stand-in XI – the manager made eight changes from a 4-1 weekend victory over Sunderland – were always comfortable, sealing the win with goals from Heung-Min Son and Nacer Chadli.

“My message is, we are Tottenham, we have a strong squad, and in every game and every selection we can play a strong team,” he said after the match.

“And it is important for the whole squad to keep motivated, as we are in a very difficult period of the season. We need all the players working hard and they know we have expectations. It is always about teamwork, and we showed tonight we have the squad to do it. The performance was fantastic – we dominated from beginning to end. This was a victory we deserved.”

Pochettino moved Eric Dier to central defence and gave Nabil Bentaleb a rare start in the middle, while Harry Kane dropped to the bench for Son to step in. The South Korean forward did not disappoint, oozing danger whenever he was on the ball.

Son broke the deadlock towards the end of a good first half for Spurs. The stand-in striker cut inside from the right and hammered home following some patient approach play.

Leicester came out with more purpose in the second period, with Spurs goalkeeper Michel Vorm making an outstanding stop from Nathan Dyer, but it was as close as the Foxes would come.

The game was over on 65 minutes after a sweet move involving Tom Carroll, Christian Eriksen and Son was finished from an angle by Chadli.

Spurs will now face Colchester United away in the fourth round a week on Saturday.