Mauricio Pochettino: teams are 'overmotivated' to beat high-flying Tottenham Hotspur

Pochettino is preparing for a difficult run of games

Mousa Dembélé, right, suffered a groin injury in Spurs’ 2-1 win over Watford (Rex)

Tottenham Hotspur will be without key midfielder Mousa Dembélé for the first few weeks of 2016, head coach Mauricio Pochettino revealed yesterday.

The Belgian limped off during the first half of Spurs’ 2-1 win at Watford on Monday with a groin injury, having previously struggled with an ankle problem. Pochettino confirmed yesterday that Dembélé, who is in the form of his life for Spurs, would miss the trip to Everton on Sunday at the very least.

“He is out for the game because he got a very small injury,” Pochettino said. “Maybe it is a few weeks out.” Spurs host Leicester City in the FA Cup third round on Sunday week and then again in the Premier League the following Wednesday.

Pochettino is preparing for a difficult run of games as he believes that teams are “over-motivated” raise their level to try to match Spurs’ impressive work rate. With Tottenham now fourth in the Premier League, and four points clear of fifth, they are more of a target for the lesser sides.

“Everton have a very good team and maybe after the defeat against Stoke City they want revenge,” Pochettino said. “Teams are over-motivated to play against us, because they know they need to run, and be overaggressive, because we are strong. But we need to be confident in our skill, and try to win the game. It is not different from other games.”

Spurs have enjoyed a good calendar year, establishing themselves towards the top end of the Premier League, and Pochettino said that with more time his team would get even better, and that they would not set limits on what they can achieve.

“We are very ambitious, we always try to work hard to get a positive result,” Pochettino said. “In football you need time. To develop players, to develop philosophies, to build a strong team and to build a winning mentality you always need time. This is a good moment and period, but we need more time to develop all that, and to deliver it.”

“We have seen during this period how we have improved,” Pochettino added, “but it is true we are in a process where we have to settle our foundation. We have a young squad, we need to have this idea present, but we don’t set limits on our possibilities. We believe in the way we took 18 months ago, and it is important now to believe in it. We are very ambitious, the group is strong and we have enough quality.”

Pochettino said that while Tottenham were considering what to do in the January transfer window, they would not allow themselves to unbalance a squad that is working well.

“I am always positive, not negative, and the most important thing is the balance of the team, the people and the changing room,” he said. “Our power is our changing room, it is not one player."