Pochettino will not beg players to stay at Tottenham

Mauricio Pochettino will not deny the wishes of any want-away Tottenham players if they are not fully committed to the club.

Spurs ran out 3-0 winners over Manchester United on Monday, with Harry Kane’s fine header and Lucas Moura’s clinical brace sealing a famous triumph.

Mousa Dembele, Danny Rose and Toby Alderweireld were among the starters at Old Trafford, after all three were linked with moves away from the club – the latter two heavily reported to be drawing interest from United.

However, even though the trio have stayed put, Pochettino reiterated that he will not attempt to convince players who are not committed to Tottenham’s cause to remain at the club.

“It is so exciting.”

Mauricio reacts to drawing @FCBarcelona in the @ChampionsLeague group stage.#COYS pic.twitter.com/8cEGutiLFX

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) 31 August 2018

“I am not a person who is going to convince players to stay or not stay,” Pochettino told a news conference.

“If they want to leave, they want to leave. The players who don’t want to stay can leave. I’m not going to convince people to stay who don’t want to.

“It’s not a problem if we lose one or two or three. Because we have plenty of players in the academy, no problem. I am more than happy to keep all the players and I am more than happy if they leave, and we play with the under-23s. It’s not a problem for me.”

Tottenham face Watford on Sunday, as Pochettino’s side go up against another to have won their opening three Premier League fixtures.