Tottenham Hotspur: Play with a rugby team spirit, Mauricio Pochettino tells Spurs players

Pochettino’s comments echo those of Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who said during the World Cup that he admired how rugby was more of a collective sport than footbal

Mauricio Pochettino oversaw his Spurs side's 3-1 victory over Villa. “Today we tried to play like a team,” he said (Getty)

Mauricio Pochettino has urged Tottenham Hotspur to play with the “mentality, philosophy and spirit” of an international rugby team as they push for Champions League football.

Spurs beat Aston Villa 3-1 on Monday night, moving them up to fifth in the Premier League table. Pochettino was pleased with how they played but demanded more of the approach – not least by his native Argentina – in the rugby world cup that ended on Sunday.

“Today we tried to play like a team,” Pochettino said. We love the way that, in the rugby World Cup, they play like a team. You need your team-mates in every action. I watched a lot of games live, and the mentality and the philosophy and spirit: that's what we need to translate into football.”

Pochettino has been won over to rugby in recent weeks – he was asking for the score of Argentina’s semi-final with Australia immediately after Spurs won 5-1 at Bournemouth eight days ago.

“In a collective sport, you need to show a good spirit,” he said. “I am in love with the rugby after this World Cup. Before, I liked it. But when you watch the effort, how they play as a team, the fantastic spirit. I enjoyed it a lot.”

Pochettino’s comments echo those of Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who said during the World Cup that he admired how rugby was more of a collective sport than football, which is more individualistic.

Spurs’ second goal was scored by 19-year-old Dele Alli, and Pochettino hailed the form of the young midfielder.

“I'm very pleased with him,” Pochettino said. “He's a very humble boy. He showed in every game he is improving a lot in his game. I'm very happy for him and all the players.”

“We saw the big potential in Dele Alli. From the first day of pre-season, he started to show he was capable of playing in the Premier League. That's why we gave him the opportunity to play. He took that and showed his qualities.”