Pochettino thanks Spurs supporters

Mauricio Pochettino thanked Tottenham’s fans for their backing after he came in for criticism on his return to Southampton on Saturday.

Spurs came from behind on two occasions, through Erik Lamela and Nacer Chadli, to claim a 2-2 draw against the club their head coach departed at the end of last season.

As a result, Tottenham remain above Southampton in the Premier League table and Pochettino was grateful for the support he received after some home fans at St Mary’s Stadium directed abusive chants towards him.

“I congratulate the players, I congratulate our fans – they touched me because they backed me a lot,” the Argentinian told BT Sport.

“I appreciate so much, because it was a very tough game, an emotional game for me and difficult because I still love Southampton, I have very good memories here.”

Pochettino acknowledged Spurs were architects of their own downfall as they made errors in the build-up to each of Graziano Pelle’s two goals for Southampton.

He added: “We conceded two goals from two mistakes. I am a little disappointed with that.

“But in the end [I am] happy because with a very young team today, we showed character.”