Mauricio Pochettino
Mauricio Pochettino

Liverpool v Tottenham preview: Mauricio Pochettino says he'll still be linked with moves away from Spurs


Despite the Manchester United and the Real Madrid jobs now being filled, Mauricio Pochettino says he still expects to be linked with moves away from Tottenham.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's appointment as Manchester United's manager has silenced the continued talk of Pochettino moving to Old Trafford, while the Real Madrid post was also filled recently following the return of Zinedine Zidane.

But Pochettino, who takes his side to Liverpool on Sunday, expects the rumour mill to pick up again soon.

"I never talked about rumours," he said. "But of course I need to congratulate him (Solskjaer) and wish him all the best now he is officially the new manager of Manchester United.

"I don't talk about rumours and in this period there will be a lot more. It always happens. This season it is going to happen, last season, the season before. We assume all the rumours, it's very natural."

"The most important thing is that maybe it can be a big issue for normal people, who do not have the ability to be in this business, the people on the street think it will affect the focus of the player, manager or staff, but for us it is normal.

"We are focused, it doesn't mean we will win all the games. It is our job, we need to live with this type of situation and we deal with that."

New stadium boost for Spurs

Spurs are less than a week away from finally moving into their new home as they open their 62,062-seater stadium against Crystal Palace on Wednesday.

The first-team squad trained there for the first time on Thursday and Pochettino says that playing at the "best stadium in the world" will provide a boost to the club going forward.

However, he is unsure whether it will help entice new players or get existing players to sign on at the club.

"I feel we are all professional but not too many people are romantic. We are still so romantic," he said.

"You must convince people to stay or sign for your club, a good point is going to be the new stadium and everything, but in the end there are a lot of people around that care more about the business rather than the capability to be in a very good place working.

"It's always the balance. Of course it makes Tottenham more attractive today. But I don't know. I can't guess because society is changing, business in football is changing."

Toby in Tottenham's pans

Toby Alderweireld is one of those players who has stalled on a new contract and he is expected to leave the club in the summer, even though he said the new arena was "far beyond my expectations".

Negotiations broke down with the Belgium defender, who can leave for £25 million in the summer after the club triggered a one-year extension last year and he has been linked with Juventus this week.

"He's in our plans, of course and then, here in Tottenham the circumstances about what you want, your agent, your dad, your family, your club, your manager, your chairman," Pochettino said.

"It is about many things together in the same place take the best decision for everyone. But it's not only a decision from one side, it is not always.

"There are a lot of components that make the best decision for the club and in this case the player.

England midfielders Harry Winks (groin) and Eric Dier (hip) will miss out at Anfield on Sunday, with Serge Aurier also injured.

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