Has Pochettino lost his ruthless edge?

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Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino is trying to whip his Tottenham squad into shape.

Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino needs to shake up his Tottenham squad. Results this season have not been good, with Spurs sitting 11th in the Premier League.

Part of the issue is the number of players wanting a future away from Spurs, with Serge Aurier among them [Mirror].

Pochettino’s response to this shows he has lost his ruthless edge.

Instead of taking hardline action over the wantaway stars, Pochettino is indulging them.

Take Christian Eriksen for instance.

Eriksen has refused to sign a new contract and made clear he intends to let his current deal expire at the end of the season.

And this season his on pitch performances have been terrible, with totally anonymous displays against Liverpool and Everton. Even before this he had been poor.

Pochettino’s response to keep on picking him is doing Tottenham no favours.

This is not the Pochettino who took over at Tottenham.

Pochettino was ruthless, and did not care for player wages or reputation.

Fan favourite Aaron Lennon was one player he banished to the under-23s, as was Andros Townsend.

Emmanuel Adebayor was frozen out completely, as was Benoit Assou-Ekotto, who were both paid up early by the club to see out their contracts, The Sun reported.

It was what Pochettino wanted, and he got his way. It was an extreme approach, but it got the rest of the Spurs squad buying in.

This season there are players like Eriksen; Serge Aurier, Danny Rose, Jan Vetonghen and Toby Alderweireld who have either publicly expressed a desire to leave or refused to commit to contracts beyond this season.

Banishing them is a step too far for some, but indulging them is not working either. Is keeping them around really making Tottenham better?