Dele Alli insists Tottenham’s players remain “1000 per cent” behind Mauricio Pochettino and that the reaction to their poor start to the season has been overblown.
Pochettino’s position has come under scrutiny in recent weeks after a shocking start to the campaign, where they won just three of their opening 12 games.
Spurs have been accused of going stale, with some of the obituaries for this group of players already written, but they went some way to putting that right on Tuesday with a 5-0 demolition of Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League.
Alli says he and his team-mates owe a debt of gratitude to their manager and that they still have full trust in him.
The result we needed. Onwards and upwards!! ⬆️⬆️⬆️ pic.twitter.com/9mkn5Ss5CS— Dele (@dele_official) October 22, 2019
Asked whether the players are still behind Pochettino, Alli said: “Yeah, 1000 per cent.
“A lot of us would not be where we are now if it was not for him. All we can do is thank him.
“We have always trusted him 100 per cent and we are going to keep doing that. We are a team.
“When things are not going our way it is easy for people to try and get at the manager but we need to look at ourselves as players. We are doing that and we are going to keep working hard.”
This is the first time in five and a half years of Pochettino at Spurs that there has been a real dip.
Despite poor results – and some even worse performances along the way – Alli insists that the reaction from outside the club has been over the top.
“It is strange because since we have been together here we probably have not been through this situation,” he said.
“But I do not think it is that much of a big deal. We have just got to keep working hard and focus on ourselves, not listen to too much that is going on around the outside.
“It is a new experience for a lot of us here, that is probably why the reaction has been [what it has]. People are making a bigger deal out of it than maybe what it actually is.
“Ever since we have been together with the manager we have got and the players we have got we need to be winning every game.
“Every club has it where they have a little bit of a dip. When we are so used to winning, it is important we show our character and how strong we really are as a team and a club.”
Alli is back in the team after a combination of niggling hamstring injuries and a dip in form, which saw him dropped from the last England squad.
His last two performances have been more promising and he admits he is feeling positive.
“I am feeling very good and happy to be back in the team and playing,” he said. “I cannot take it for granted.
“I have got to keep working hard. I do not want to be back to where I was, I want to be better than that. I have got to keep working hard and trying to improve.”
