Mauricio Pochettino warns undermining of Harry Kane and Dele Alli could harm England’s World Cup chances

The Spurs manager is still struggling to understand the ire directed at his players

Mauricio Pochettino has thrown his support behind Harry Kane (Getty)

Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has warned that constant undermining of players such as Harry Kane and Dele Alli could damage England’s chances at the 2018 World Cup.

Uppermost on his mind was a tweet sent from the Football Association’s FA Cup account after Tottenham’s FA Cup semi-final defeat by Manchester United last Saturday, for which they later apologised, implying that Kane had been in United defender Chris Smalling’s pocket.

But he widened his scope to include routine booing of Dele Alli by rival fans for perceived diving as well as mockery of Kane – who is pursuing Liverpool’s Mo Salah in the race for the Golden Boot - for claiming a goal in the 2-1 victory away to Stoke City when a free kick taken by Christian Eriksen grazed his shoulder on its way into the net.

Liverpool reserve goalkeeper Simon Mignolet tweeted that “someone else might claim” Salah’s PFA Player of the Year award, while Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) chair Ben Purkiss was reported to have said that ‘Harry Kane is so prolific that he is able to score without touching the ball.’

“It is so difficult to understand this tweet from the FA after the [United] game of course,” Pochettino said. “It was embarrassing, no? It was a shame, because the FA is English football and Harry Kane is a potential captain in the World Cup. The situation disappointed me. The fact it happened, then they apologised after a few days.”

Pochettino momentarily risked categorising his star striker as a member of a snowflake generation of over-sensitive footballers by claiming that Kane was ‘very sad’ and that Spurs are ‘helping him to move on’ before adding that ‘he’s strong in his mind.’ But he insisted that ill-judged comments on social media and partisan overreactions can only harm player morale.

Kane was upset with the jokes made at his expense (AFP)

“We need to protect our assets,” he said. “For me the most important thing here in England is try to back English players, English talent, because he [Kane] is going to compete in international games or the World Cup or Euros and everyone wants to support the national team. And then if Harry Kane scores he is an England player not a Tottenham player or United or Chelsea. The most important thing is to back them.

“Of course when you defend your team here, okay. But this type of situation, like the one that happened after the [United] game, doesn't help to create a good atmosphere. I'm sure that Harry is not happy and no-one helped him to have an unbelievable World Cup. When we talk about passion, when we talk about feeling you are proud to defend your country, we need to be careful in the way we send messages or the way we write or give our opinion.

“Both [Kane and Alli] are massive talents and they are going to defend the England national team shirt. It is fashion sometimes to boo or criticise like this. I think people love them and sometimes we magnify the situation and we create an issue when really there is not an issue. But yes, sometimes it is difficult to understand.”