Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport

Mauricio Pochettino hits out at press after Tottenham fail to add to squad in transfer window

Tottenham coach Mauricio Pochettino vented his frustration after accusing the media of 'manipulating' his answers in a heated press conference on Friday.

For a second successive window, Spurs failed to add to their squad as top four rivals Chelsea and Arsenal both brought in reinforcements.

It follows a disappointing run of results in the domestic cups, with Tottenham losing on penalties to Chelsea in the EFL Cup semi-final before crashing out to Crystal Palace in the FA Cup fourth round.

Ahead of Saturday's lunchtime kick-off against Newcastle, Pochettino was unhappy at the assertion made by a member of the media that he was not willing to add to his squad after the January transfer window deadline passed.

"I want to be clear with you and everyone," he said.

Unhappy: Mauricio Pochettino warned the media not to mince his words ahead of the game against Newcastle. (Getty Images)

"If you twist my answer, like many, many times, and manipulate my answer like you sometimes do... and make me look like 'Oh I am so happy!', that I do not want to sign [players] or add more quality and not win the Carabao Cup or FA Cup.

"Please, enough is enough. I am happy to work with my squad because I believe I have a very good squad.

"Another thing is we are always open to add more quality because in football, always you need to improve. If we can't add more quality, I am not going to be sad."

Tottenham can move a step closer to securing Champions League football again for next season as a victory at Wembley would open up a 10-point gap to Arsenal and Chelsea.

(Getty Images)

But after the Magpies' shock 2-1 win over champions Manchester City, Pochettino is wary of the threat posed by Rafa Benitez's side.

"It's always important to stop the negative dynamic, so the victory over Watford was so important - but now you cannot stop because we are going to play Newcastle and it's going to be a very important game," he added.

"Another three important points. If we want to be there until the end, in a good position in the table, I think it's a must-win game."

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.