What’s the team news this week? Bissouma being back was a surprise.
To be honest it was probably a bit premature because of his preparation but we value him and we felt like it was important for him to be with the group, part of the team as much as possible and to make him feel part of it.
Was it a special day last week for you with the win and being against the England manager who gave you your international debut?
A special day because we won. Ultimately that was only goal and the only focus, to try get us three points and thankfully we did that in a difficult match. I thought we managed the game quite well and were good value for the three points. Obviously we recognise we have another tough one this weekend and we have to go there as prepared as possible to hopefully get a good result.
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The club beat Arsenal 3-0 a year ago today – they are 24 points clear now, can you believe that much has changed in that time?
Yeah I mean football can change very quickly, good and bad, as we’ve seen. For me the common trend with teams that are successful and that do well is they are consistent. They are consistent with how they work and who they are. Hopefully we can find a place where we are consistent as a football club.
Should Harry Kane have a statue outside the stadium?
I think that is probably a question to answer when he is not playing here because then you can recognise and appreciate the work he has done. Right now it is probably a bit premature because the reality is Harry is still a Tottenham player and we are still focused on him achieving more great things for this football club. Hopefully he can do that.
Arsene Wenger said Harry Kane should stay, do you believe he should?
Yeah of course. Our focus is on Harry until the end of the season, like it is for every player, and then we realise at the end of the season there is some decisions to make for different people and players but ultimately the focus on every player in the dressing room is on the next three games because we need to finish the season strong and be in a good place come the summer.
Will you be happy if Spurs finish in Europe and feel you’ve achieved good things?
It is tough because we are in a results business. I do understand and recognise that. I am not naïve enough to think otherwise but at the same time I think in the summer I am pretty sure we will look at work we’ve done and feel like we’ve done a good job in terms of the culture we’ve tried to set, the environment we’ve tried to set and what we’ve tried to create at the football club. We hope and expect that going forward that will continue.
The U21s were relegated, is there an issue in this country for that age group? Are you worried about it here?
For me the most important phase for any academy player is their scholarship years. When you come into the building full-time, you need a solid two years around the academy coaches getting taught and to really understand what it is like. Of course that is a difficult area from 18 to 21 or 22 where different players develop at different rates and what different things. But ultimately at that age, you need to be good enough for the first team or the phone needs to ring for you to go out on loan.
That is probably the drive behind a lot of the work that happens at different ages. Obviously we’ve had a poor outcome in terms of our U21s but we recognise that our U17s and U18s have done well. As an academy as a whole, I think we want to be better. That is not wrong for me to say that.
We saw the moment of racism from a Palace fan, how is Sonny?
Yeah he is a fantastic human being and I love him as a person. I love him as footballer but more importantly I love him as a person. Ultimately it is sad to see and not what we ever want to see. I feel sad for the people doing it ultimately. Listen, we stand with Sonny. We want to protect our players at all times, in our stadium, in other stadiums and we want to respect players because they are entertaining us, giving their life to entertain us as fans of fans but ultimately if there is anyone stepping out of line, they need to be punished. It is as simple as that.
You’ve had three games in charge, how do you reflect on your second spell?
Obviously still halfway through the process so tough to truly reflect on where we are in this moment, but the general feeling is we are changing some things that normally take a lot of time. We understand we don’t have time but everyone here knows who we are, how we work and what we want to be. We’re trying to get everyone to buy into that.
What is biggest strength the team has showed in the past three games?
I think we know we have got top players, we’ve proven over a number of years we have top players but the biggest message is we need to be consistent in every aspect on and off the pitch. We need to be consistent as a football club and as a group and then we need to be together. That is inside here but we also need to create an environment and culture where everyone is together and our fans are with us. We need our fans, they are amazing, they are the best and they need to see a team that makes them feel part of something.
Villa, are a contender for the Europa League, Unai Emery has done a great job hasn’t he?
Obviously he has done a fantastic job, not only at Aston Villa but I am pretty sure everywhere he’s been in his coaching career he has done an amazing job. We understand we’re going to Villa Park and it will be a difficult match but we have to be ready to fight. We have to be ready to fight for a difficult match but at the same time to have confidence and belief that we can get a result.
Fraser Forster has stepped in, does he give you confidence?
Yeah obviously when you’re at a top club like we are you need two top keepers. We do have two top keepers and we’ve needed both of them this season for different reasons. We trust Fraser, believe in Fraser and know he can contribute and help the team.
Harry Kane said that the club needs to get back to the values they had when Mauricio Pochettino was here, do you think he’s right?
Absolutely, yep, absolutely I am fully with him on that 100%.
How did they slip with those values?
We can talk a lot about players but I think the environment, culture, it’s everyone, everything, the small details. We have to have many people driving that, not just one or two people. It has to be driven from within.
I agree with him because I was part of probably the change in setting new standards and a new culture within this place. You can spend years trying to build something but at the same time it doesn’t take long to lose it. Thankfully for us we still have many, many good people within these walls who know and feel what good likes like and probably more importantly want that as well. It is something we absolutely strive for. Ultimately that transfers outside the walls to everyone, you guys, our fans, the outside world. When you see a football club that is together, that is strong, then that transfers to everyone.
People from the outside might wonder why values like that matter to a player going out and playing a game of football?
I think we’re talking about a massive football club here. When you come here and look at the size of this training ground as well. It is important, it’s vital and it’s crucial that everyone who comes in here is pulling in the same direction and want the same things. I think that goes for every single football club as well. We need that. Every club needs that, we need that. I agree with him and I make him right. I am happy that he has said it because he is one of the people I want to drive it because he is important to us, in terms of his stature at this football but also his understanding that there’s many people that can contribute as well.
Harry is now 50 goals behind Alan Shearer, can he do it as a Spurs player?
I think Harry will continue to score goals, I have absolutely no doubt about that. I said after the Palace game, I don’t like to look too far ahead because in football and in life absolutely anything can happen. It’s important Harry is focused on every game and all our players are focused on every game that they appear in. He’s an example of someone that is always focused and I’ve always said that if Harry plays games of football, he scores goals. We all know that.
Hugo Lloris has been linked with a move this week, if he goes you’d need a new goalkeeper, is a big overhaul needed or just a few bits and pieces for the next manager?
First of all we are talking about hypothetical situation in terms of an individual. At same time we recognise the next three games are important for us and then I’m sure those conversations will happen. We know we have a big squad, with players coming back from loan. Maybe the club want to do some business, I’m not sure. It’s not necessarily always the right and best option. That’s two or three weeks’ time. We can’t look to far ahead. We need to focus on now because these three games are important to finish the season well.
Does it matter what European competition Spurs get into?
I think we’re in a moment where we just need to try to finish as high as possible and get as many results as we can in these next three games and then see where we are. Hopefully that will be in Europe. Ultimately competition is competition and it would be very wrong for any club to speak badly about a competition you want to win. To be perfectly honest, I think Jose Mourinho has done an incredible job in giving that competition a real status, a real importance. That was probably quite important that that did happen. So whoever is in Europe, we’re seeing with West Ham right now there is a desire to win.
You’ve been here before doing this in 2021, what have you found to be the differences or similarities between the two periods, maybe in yourself or the club?
(Thinks for a moment) Obviously we’ve come in in quite difficult moments. I think that’s similarity in both, which is tough. It makes it quite difficult when you don’t have a lot of time. It’s really tough then to change too much. At the same time, I think the first time probably I thought we could do a good job as opposed to this time where I know we can do a good job. That is feeling for me and my coaching team. Hopefully we will finish the season and can look back at end of the season and say we did a good job.
Is that a confidence thing with you, you’ve got your pro licence now and you’re a more experienced coach?
First of all I know this football club, I know this football club very well and feel this club inside of me and that can help. Ultimately I hear a lot of people will naturally say about age, but it really feels irrelevant. In football it doesn’t matter how many years you’ve had in the game, how much experience, you’re being judged every single day and in every single game. That’s the nature of football. It really doesn’t matter how old I am or how long I’ve been coaching, I feel ready to help the team and the football club and that’s the most important thing.
Many of the players have been pushing your claims to be the next permanent boss, how does that feel to hear?
Obviously that’s a nice feeling but at the same time I understand you need to get results on and off pitch. It’s the nature of the business. We’re aware of that and hopefully we will do that.
How do you get Dejan Kulusevski back to his best next season?
I love Deki as a player. I think he’s got so much room to grow and be a top, top player, even though he already is a top, top player. At the same time when you play for a club like this I feel it’s important that you feel you have to earn the shirt in every moment. Naturally when you play for a club like this there’s competition. At the moment, last week, you could see he was on the bench but he came on and helped the team get the result. That’s important because you need a full squad. The intensity of the Premier League and the demands are so much that it’s bigger than just the 11 players who start the game on the pitch.
You need people to come on and contribute. We saw that with Eric Dier as well the other day when Clem went off injured. He had to be ready for five minutes and he played an important role. So that’s the message to all of our players. We value all of them, they’ve got an important role to play, albeit for three games at the end of the season, but I think it’s an important message going forward.
Do you think Deki will be at the club next season?
I’m not sure about that to be perfectly honest. The general feeling is that Deki is a Tottenham player so those conversations, like many other conversations about other players, will come at the end of the season.
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