Tottenham's Champions League results prove progress, says Mauricio Pochettino before Dortmund test

The Spurs manager believes that his team's performances in Group H show they have improved since last season despite arriving in Dortmund on the back of a disappointing loss to Arsenal

Mauricio Pochettino in Spurs training at Signal Iduna Park (Getty)

Tottenham Hotspur may still sting after getting turned over at the Emirates on Saturday, but in Europe they are on the brink of something special.

Spurs have already qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League and they only need three points from their last two games – the last of which is Apoel Nicosia at Wembley – to ensure that they win Group H. That would be a remarkable achievement, given the quality of the group, their struggles in Europe last season, and how low expectations were for this season’s Champions League. It shows that, whatever the pain from losing 2-0 at Arsenal, the club is moving in the right direction.

So Mauricio Pochettino was in upbeat mood speaking at Signal Iduna Park on Monday evening. Always keeping an eye on the bigger picture – he wants to win the Champions League – he said that Spurs’ European progress was as good a sign as any of how well they are doing.

“We are qualified for the next stage, we are so happy for that,” Pochettino said. “At the same period, one year ago, we were in Monaco, and after that game we were out of the Champions League. Now we are in the next stage. It is so important that the team has stepped up: in the Premier League we are in a very good position. We are very disappointed because of the last game, but the expectation was different. We believed we were going to the Emirates to win. We are very disappointed, but we need to keep going.”

While Spurs’ Premier League title challenge is threatening to falter – they are 11 points behind Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City already – they have saved some of their best performances for Europe this year. They bravely drew 1-1 at Real Madrid and recorded thumping 3-1 wins at Wembley over both Madrid and Dortmund. Now, sitting three points clear on top and eyeing up a seeded place for the last-16 draw, Spurs can look back with some pride at their achievements.

“Our challenge changed because we were so good in the first four games, drawing in Madrid and beating them at Wembley,” Pochettino said. “It is a massive achievement, and so good for the players. If we can take first position and finish on top it is important. We are going to play with our best team, fresh players, not taking risks because their health is most important.”

Harry Winks is likely to return to Tottenham's starting line-up (Getty)

The reward for this is that some of the pressure is taken off what could have been a very difficult game. That will free Pochettino up to make changes and he is likely to bring Harry Winks and Serge Aurier back into the team, and is considering recalls for Heung-Min Son and Danny Rose too. Rose was surprisingly dropped for Saturday’s derby – Pochettino did not think he was fit enough – but the England left-back has travelled to Germany and Pochettino said he was in contention for Tuesday night. “Rose is doing well, the training session on Saturday was tough for him, today he trained with the group and we will decide tomorrow,” Pochettino said. Asked about his relationship with Rose, the manager said: “I cannot speak about rumours, there is no issue with him.”

Dele Alli will come face to face with French referee Clement Turpin tomorrow, the man in whose direction he swore during England’s game with Slovakia in September. That led to a one-game ban for Alli, who said he was swearing at Kyle Walker instead. If Alli plays – he did not look near his best at the Emirates – Pochettino will tell him to be on best behaviour. “Always it is important to be aware of the situation,” he said. “I will tell Dele to be careful if he plays tomorrow. The ref will move on, with nothing on his mind.”

All of which means there will be a more casual feel about this game than first expected when the draw was made and it looked like the hardest of crunch clashes. “We have the most busy period coming, we need them read to compete at a very good level,” Pochettino said. “We need to get the feeling, analyse and then take the decision. Of course we are going to make some changes.”

Dortmund: Bürki; Toljan, Zagadou, Bartra, Schmelzer; Götze, Weigl, Kagawa; Pulisic, Aubameyang, Philipp

Tottenham: Lloris; Sanchez, Dier, Vertonghen; Aurier, Winks, Dembele, Rose; Eriksen, Alli; Kane