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Football London
Football London
Sport
Rob Guest

Moussa Sissoko opens up on Pochettino's exit and what Mourinho said in his first team meeting

It was all change at Spurs this time last week as Mauricio Pochettino was relieved of his duties after five-and-a-half years at the helm.

The Argentine paid the price for a poor 2019 and he was replaced by Jose Mourinho 11 hours later.

Moussa Sissoko was a key part of Pochettino's team in his final 18 months in the job, proving all the doubters wrong as he played an integral role in helping the team reach the Champions League final back in June.

The Frenchman was on the bench in the new head coach's first game in charge at the weekend but he will hoping to force his way into the side on a permanent basis over the coming months.

Speaking to the club's matchday programme, the powerful midfielder opened up on an eventful past week at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Champions League: Tottenham v Olympiacos

"We were all disappointed to hear the news," he said on Pochettino's exit. "Not one player likes that sort of situation where a manager leaves because that sometimes means we as players haven't done enough on the pitch.

"Yet, at the same time, that is the way of football. We have seen managers move many times at different clubs and it will continue to happen. It is life and it is football.

"First of all. we would like to say thank you to Mauricio for everything. He has done a lot for the club - both before I arrived here and after - so, we thank him for everything he has done.

Moussa Sissoko with his Player of the Season award and Mauricio Pochettino (Tottenham Hotspur FC/Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images)

"What he did and what he achieved here was amazing and we wish him all the best for the future.

"It's a new start now though. Jose's a big coach, he's won so many titles with different teams and you can see he has a lot of experience, so I think it will be good working with him.

"Everyone knows him. We have played against sides he has managed on many occasions and we've seen him as a pundit, although no-one in the squad has worked with him before.

"What we know is that he works with passion, he wants to win, and he has won a lot already with many teams.

"We haven't had too much time to work with him but from the first meeting, we had a chat, he explained to us the way he wants to operate, his ideas and now we need to take things day by day and work hard together.

"Hopefully, he'll bring his previous success here - like we always say, we want to win trophies and if we can do that with him, that'll be great."

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