Chadli: Poch is a winner and gets best out of me
Nacer Chadli has told FourFourTwo that Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino is a 'winner' who understands how to get the best out of his players.
The 43-year-old Argentine has helped enhance the careers of several Spurs players during his debut season at White Hart Lane, with Ryan Mason and Harry Kane two of four Lilywhites who lined up for England against Italy on Tuesday.
Similarly, Chadli has improved immeasurably from the previous year, becoming a mainstay in the first team having doubled his scoring tally to 10.
The 25-year-old had found himself in a peripheral role under previous Tottenham managers, with speculation last summer tipping the former Twente forward to be involved in a swap deal with PSV Eindhoven's Memphis Depay.
Speaking exclusively in the May 2015 issue of FourFourTwo, Chadli cites his personal resurgence to the management style of Pochettino who has implemented a more aggressive, pressing regime.
“I’m enjoying working with him," he says. "I think he’s a manager who can get the best out of me.
"The way we play now is more intense – I have to do more both defensively and going forward, but this is part of the game for a winger.
“Pochettino is a good person and a winner. He understands the players and he wants to help us all to be the best player we can be.”
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Chadli helped endear himself to the Tottenham support by scoring the opener against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium in September, and was yellow-carded for his enthusiatic celebration during the 1-1 draw.
“I was surprised to be booked for that [Chadli shushed the Arsenal fans], because it wasn’t as if I did something very bad! It was just a reaction and a celebration.
“For our fans it was very nice to see us beat [Arsenal] at home and go there and get a draw, and I feel we really deserved those four points. Of course, we want to finish ahead of them if we can, but it is not easy.”
Read the full interview with Nacer Chadli in the May 2015 issue of FourFourTwo, which also features the Top 50 Football League Players. This month’s magazine also examines whether Borussia Dortmund boss Jurgen Klopp is poised to move to England, goes One-on-One with ex-Manchester United and Leeds hard man Alan Smith, chats to Simon Mignolet and Ryan Bertrand about the chase for the Champions League and meets the hardest player ever. Subscribe!