Mauricio Pochettino has spelled out the importance that he attaches to ruthlessness at Tottenham Hotspur as Nabil Bentaleb trains away from the first-team squad and the manager prepares to face Andros Townsend, a player that he let go last season.
Thew Argentinian sold Townsend to Newcastle United at the end of January for £12m and the winger has since moved on to Crystal Palace for £13m; he and they are the visitors to White Hart Lane on Saturday afternoon.
Last November Townsend, having been frustrated after being an unused substitute in Tottenham’s home win over Aston Villa, clashed with the fitness coach, Nathan Gardiner, in the post-match warm-down.
Pochettino fined the player and imposed a one-week club suspension on him, during which the 25-year-old did not train with the first-team group. Pochettino insisted that the subsequent sale to Newcastle was not the result of a fallout. Townsend wanted regular football and it was not a realistic prospect for him at White Hart Lane.
A look at the season’s numbers before and after the Villa flashpoint is revealing. Pre-Villa, Townsend had been a regular in Pochettino’s matchday squads (when fit) and he appeared in seven of the club’s 14 matches in all competitions. Post-Villa, Tottenham had 17 games before Townsend’s departure to Newcastle and he did not play for a single minute. He featured in just three matchday squads.
“There was not too much opportunity to play him [after Villa],’ Pochettino said. “We were out of the League Cup and there was not too much opportunity to rotate the squad. If you remember, it [the row with Gardiner] was a problem during one week, when he was suspended. It is not about personal things or issues. We spent nearly two years together here and we had a good relationship.”
Pochettino talked about how he demanded tactical flexibility from his players – in other words, the ability to play in more than one position – and when he described Townsend as a “classic winger, who plays wider,” it was possible to see him as an inexact fit for the style.
What was more interesting and of greater resonance, particularly in light of the situation with Bentaleb, were Pochettino’s comments about discipline. “It is important that all players want to be part of the team and play for the team,” he said. “The discipline and the realisation are very important for success. It is very important to show respect for everyone at the club.”
Bentaleb was a starting midfielder for Pochettino in 2014-15, but he suffered a dramatic fall from grace last season and he has been frozen out since the beginning of pre-season, detailed to train with the under-21s. Pochettino was almost matter-of-fact when he said that because Bentaleb wanted to leave he would be barred from working with the first-team.
“The rule is very clear: if you are not part of my plans, why are you training with us? He understands very well, like any other player. It is not a big issue, not a problem. Sometimes it looks like a big, big issue but it is very normal in football.”
