Jose Fonte has spoken in awe of the workings of former Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino, who he used to work with at Southampton.
The Lille title-winner claimed that the PSG boss ‘showed a different side of the game’ when he arrived at St Mary’s, as he also stated that the fan favourite at Spurs was an ‘eye-opener’ for everyone, as he told talkSPORT (05/10/21 at 9:50 am)
Since Daniel Levy decided to axe Pochettino from the job, they have appointed and sacked Jose Mourinho.
And, in footballing terms, they have his smaller brother in charge now because the style of play, from Nuno Espirito Santo, is not too dissimilar, in regards to it being defensive and without that high press.
But what will be painful to hear for Spurs fans the most is about Pochettino’s ‘high-intensity pressing’, how he would come on the training pitch to show players ‘when to press’ and ‘who to press’.
In truth, all of that is missing in North London now and their fans would do anything to have him back on their books.
“He showed us a different side of the game,” said Fonte. “He was working very, very hard in training, in terms of pressing. High-intensity pressing, trying to play out from the back.
“Knowing exactly when to press, who to press. He would come onto the pitch and show us.
“We would work on the pitch what he wanted us to do. But he would also show us on images, how he wanted us to do, so we knew every moment of the game what we needed to do. There were no excuses.
“It was an eye-opener. In terms of intensity, he would make us, for a goal to count in training, we would have to cross the halfway line, always as defenders, so it was very, very demanding physically.”
When Pochettino was sacked by Spurs, it was, aside from when he was first trying to get his feet under the table, his first real blip as manager.
Not only that, he had just come out of the Champions League final, after spending very little money, so he was showing just what he was capable of.
And to see Tottenham’s demise since then is pretty remarkable, as those in the boardroom have felt, and will continue to, feel the wrath of the supporters.
Perhaps Pochettino should have been backed in the market, rather than flung out to dry when things started to go tough.
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