Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Aaron Flanagan

Mauricio Pochettino takes aim at Tottenham players after blowing Olympiakos lead

Mauricio Pochettino claims his Tottenham players took it too easy as they blew a perfect start to their Champions League campaign.

Pochettino hit out at the work rate of his Spurs stars after their 2-0 lead was wiped out in Greece, instead heading home with just one point.

Spurs were handed a comfortable advantage on the half hour mark after Harry Kane's penalty and Lucas Moura's strike put them in the ascendancy.

Olympiakos pulled one back before the break and a penalty levelled the scores.

It was close replica of Spurs' performance in the north London derby just over two weeks earlier, where they again blew a two-goal lead.

Pochettino was not happy with his side's performance in Greece (REUTERS)
Tottenham's players react at full-time of the fixture (REUTERS)

And Pochettino says his players are not working hard enough.

“It is easy to explain,” Pochettino said. “When we don’t show that intensity the competition demands we struggle.

“We are not talking about the quality of players, we are talking about focus, concentration, anticipation.

“How many times did we anticipate the action? How many times were we not productive like we were against Palace?

“It’s not about tactics or quality players but the level of fight. You need to match the opponent in aggressivity, excitement, motivation.

Olympiakos turned the game on its head and secured a draw (AFP/Getty Images)

“That is the first demand, you need to work.

“This season we have been conceding a lot of chances and a lot of goals and need to change that way. The only way to do that is to be more demanding.

“Training needs to be harder. Psychologically harder.”

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.