Tottenham Hotspur vs Leicester City preview - Pochettino over Old Trafford loss - 7M sport

Tottenham Hotspur vs Leicester City preview - Pochettino over Old Trafford loss



Posted Friday, March 20, 2015 by PA

Mauricio Pochettino insists he has had an "easy week" as his entire Tottenham squad look to bounce back from a disappointing defeat at Manchester United.

A 3-0 loss at Old Trafford has dented Tottenham's Champions League qualification chances but they welcome Premier League bottom-club Leicester to White Hart Lane on Saturday.

And rather than having a week of reflection on last Sunday's result, Pochettino believes everyone knows what went wrong and how it can be addressed heading into the final stages of the season.

"I didn't need to speak too much," he replied when asked about the fall-out from the Old Trafford loss.

"It has been an easy week. We all agree about what happened at Old Trafford and so it's easy to fix that. We were all disappointed after the game, we know how we need to change, to fix that and for me after nine months here it was one of the easiest weeks.

"We speak a lot. The way we played we are all agreed we were poor, it was not a good performance, and on that we all agree. It's important to realise that to fix problems and try to show next Saturday that it was only a temporary problem or a bad day."

Leicester may be struggling at the foot on the table but they were successful at White Hart Lane in the FA Cup fourth round back in January.

The Foxes, however, have not won in any competition since that late comeback - losing five of their seven fixtures in that time - but Pochettino still expects a stern challenge from a side fighting for their top-flight status

"Leicester in the last few games have played differently from the FA Cup, they have changed the system," he said.

"It's important to show that we are not affected by the last result. We expect a very tough, important game because we have nine games left and it's important to start to win points.

"It is an important game because we come from a big hit for us at Old Trafford. We need to show that it hasn't damaged us too much and to try to give the best and get the three points."

Boss Nigel Pearson admits Leicester are being written off but vowed they will keep fighting to survive.

Pearson's side have been at the foot since November and are seven points from the safety line with 10 games left.

They have won just once in their last 10 league games and the boss conceded their form must improve, but still believes they can stay up.

He said: "It's still a big task for us and with the points we have on the board and shift in form we have to achieve there won't be too many people who share my beliefs.

"The players remain very upbeat and 10 games left is still a sizeable chunk and we have to make sure it's a successful 10 games.

"We have to make sure we remain in touch and that our destiny stays in our own hands. That's what we have to try to do. We have 10 games left, six of them at home.

"Our home form has not been what we would have liked but if we get into the latter stages, with four or five games at home, in contact it's something we can be relatively positive about."

The Foxes have drawn a blank in their last two games with nine-goal top scorer Leonardo Ulloa failing to net in his last six outings, since Leicester beat Tottenham 2-1 in the FA Cup in January.

But Pearson insisted they cannot afford to dwell on the past.

"We've not really created enough in some games but we could also rue missed chances and if we wanted to we could bemoan ill fortune with some decisions," he said.

"That's where we are. There's always quite an honest recognition of where we are. For sure we have to get back to being more ruthless in front of goal but we have a belief in the players we have we can make progress."



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