Tottenham players '1000 per cent' behind Mauricio Pochettino, says Dele Alli after 5-0 Champions League win
Dele Alli insists Tottenham's players remain "1000 per cent" behind Mauricio Pochettino and that the reaction to their poor start to the season has been overblown.
Pochettino's position has come under scrutiny in recent weeks after a shocking start to the campaign, where they won just three of their opening 12 games.
Spurs have been accused of going stale, with some of the obituaries for this group of players already written, but they went some way to putting that right on Tuesday with a 5-0 demolition of Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League.
Alli says he and his team-mates owe a debt of gratitude to their manager and that they still have full trust in him.
Asked whether the players are still behind Pochettino, Alli said: "Yeah, 1000 per cent.
"A lot of us would not be where we are now if it was not for him. All we can do is thank him.
"We have always trusted him 100 per cent and we are going to keep doing that. We are a team.
"When things are not going our way it is easy for people to try and get at the manager but we need to look at ourselves as players. We are doing that and we are going to keep working hard."
Spurs put in five-star performance
This is the first time in five and a half years of Pochettino at Spurs that there has been a real dip.
Despite poor results - and some even worse performances along the way - Alli insists that the reaction from outside the club has been over the top.
"It is strange because since we have been together here we probably have not been through this situation," he said.
"But I do not think it is that much of a big deal. We have just got to keep working hard and focus on ourselves, not listen to too much that is going on around the outside.
"It is a new experience for a lot of us here, that is probably why the reaction has been [what it has]. People are making a bigger deal out of it than maybe what it actually is.
"Ever since we have been together with the manager we have got and the players we have got we need to be winning every game.
"Every club has it where they have a little bit of a dip. When we are so used to winning, it is important we show our character and how strong we really are as a team and a club."
Alli is back in the team after a combination of niggling hamstring injuries and a dip in form, which saw him dropped from the last England squad.
His last two performances have been more promising and he admits he is feeling positive.
"I am feeling very good and happy to be back in the team and playing," he said. "I cannot take it for granted.
"I have got to keep working hard. I do not want to be back to where I was, I want to be better than that. I have got to keep working hard and trying to improve."
Pochettino promises '200 per cent effort'
Mauricio Pochettino says he reciprocates the love of Tottenham fans and will give "200 per cent" effort to deliver the results they demand.
Spurs supporters repeatedly chanted the name of the under-fire manager during the emphatic win on Tuesday.
Pochettino is facing the first real test of his five-year tenure in north London following a dismal start to the season which has seen his position come under increasing scrutiny.
Pochettino accepts the club's current predicament is a challenging one but believes his squad are determined to return to previous heights.
"I say thank you, I want to be grateful with them," Pochettino said of Tottenham's fans.
"I think the same love is in both ways. I feel that they love me and I think they need to feel that I love them too.
"But I think always the most important is the team, the players are the principal actors and always I am here to help the club and help them to be happy, like it was the previous season.
"Of course now is a tough situation. We are a club and that commitment that we showed in the past, we are now showing.
"That makes me feel more responsible about my job and I need to work every day 200 per cent to try to provide the result that they expect from us."
Spurs' squad will be rewarded with a day off on Wednesday before they begin preparing for a rematch with Jurgen Klopp's Premier League leading Reds on Sunday.
After winning just four of 13 fixtures in all competitions this term, Pochettino insists time is all he needs to revive his side's fortunes.
"It was an important result, one for our confidence and another because to add three points in the table was very, very, very important tonight," said Pochettino.
"I feel good because we start to see that it's only time we need to recover our best feelings.
"We need to build that confidence, we need to go step by step, being solid again and that is only the first step to build again our confidence and to try to perform in the way that everyone expects.
"It's now about to stay calm, it's a good result but only three points.
"Now we have ahead a lot of tough games and we need to be solid. That is why I want all fresh, that is why tomorrow they are going to have the day off.
"Sunday is going to be a fantastic game. A few months ago we were playing the final against Liverpool and now in Anfield."
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