Mauricio Pochettino: Tottenham boss responds to Antonio Conte & Jose Mourinho

By Simon StoneBBC Sport in Nashville
Mourinho (left) believes Tottenham have had a good summer
Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho (left) believes Tottenham have had a good summer

Tottenham's Mauricio Pochettino wants fellow Premier League managers to show respect by not talking about his club.

Chelsea's Antonio Conte and Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho have both spoken about Tottenham this week.

Conte said Spurs' expectations were not as high as elsewhere, while Mourinho believes Pochettino has had a good summer having sold only Kyle Walker.external-link

"I am not a manager who likes to speak about another club, another manager," said Pochettino.

"I like to show respect. I expect the same from the people who compete with us."

Tottenham have not won the league title since 1961, with their last major trophy being the League Cup in 2008.

This summer, they are still to buy a player while Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United have each spent in excess of £100m.

Pochettino said: "For different clubs who have spent a lot of money, the expectation and pressure is massive. For us it is the same. It is our own pressure and ambition."

'We will move when the moment is right'

Pochettino refused to confirm he was interested in signing Everton's England midfielder Ross Barkley, 23.

He did say Tottenham would eventually be active, and said the club's fans should not be concerned about their lack of activity.

He said: "Our moment will arrive. We are calm because our squad is competitive. We have a plan. We have a very clear idea of what we want.

"There are a lot of rumours about the big sides spending money and it looks like Tottenham is not ambitious.

"I want to tell our fans 'don't be worried' because we will move in the market."

Dier is here 'at the moment'

Dier and Pochettino
Eric Dier played 36 of Tottenham's league games last season

Spurs midfielder Eric Dier has been heavily linked with a move to Manchester United this summer.

Red Devils boss Mourinho said on Tuesday he was trying to sign a defensive midfield player.

Pochettino would not talk about United's apparent interest in 23-year-old Dier, but did say "the idea" was not to sell the England international.

He said: "Today Dier is our player. We are not trying to sell him. He is an important player for us."

'Mbappe is worth the money'

Away from White Hart Lane, France forward Kylian Mbappe has been linked with a world record £160m move from Monaco this summer.

Real Madrid and Manchester City are both keen on the 18-year-old.

The mooted fee would shatter the record £89m Manchester United paid Juventus for midfielder Paul Pogba 12 months ago.

Tottenham captain Hugo Lloris, an international team-mate of Mbappe, thinks the teenager is worth the money.

Lloris said: "I spent some time with him during the international break. He is very, very talented. He is very young but he has great potential."

Comments

Join the conversation

These comments are now closed.

241 comments