Rose: Pochettino deserves the Real Madrid job

Tottenham are braced for a fight to keep Mauricio Pochettino amid growing interest from Real Madrid.

Pochettino is in demand after turning Spurs into a competitive force in the Champions League — and full back Danny Rose believes that he ‘deserves’ the chance to manage a club like Real or Manchester United.

The Argentine has admirers at Old Trafford, while Chelsea explored the possibility of tempting him across the capital last year.

The biggest threat, however, is expected to come from European champions Real, among the potential opponents in the next round of the Champions League, who have Santiago Solari in charge on a contract until June 2021.

Spurs players are concerned the 46-year-old, who arrived from Southampton in the summer of 2014, will be tempted away once he has led the team into the new stadium early next year.

‘What he has done here in the last four or five years has been amazing,’ said Rose (right) after Tuesday’s draw in Barcelona earned Spurs a place in the last 16 of the Champions League and enhanced Pochettino’s reputation.

‘It’s no secret all the teams have spent a lot more than we have. The manager did not make any signings in the summer and he is probably not going to make any in January. It speaks volumes of how good he is. It’s no coincidence that every day you read Real Madrid want him or United want him. It’s exactly what he deserves.

‘He has transformed how others outside the club think of us and transformed how we think of ourselves and how we approach big games. We hope he stays for a really long time.’

Tottenham’s fighting spirit under Pochettino is evident in this European campaign which seemed doomed with only a point from the first three games. But late goals against PSV Eindhoven, Inter and Lucas Moura’s 85th-minute equaliser in the Nou Camp took them through.

‘Everyone had written us off and we proved them wrong,’ said Rose. ‘The belief he gives everybody is just amazing. He has been amazing for myself and this club, and we hope he is here for a long time.’

Spurs are competing in Europe and at the top of the Premier League against rivals who spent hundreds of millions of pounds more on recruitment. They have also had to cope without a home since the end of the 2016-17 season.

They edged out Inter Milan to qualify from Group B and last year took four points from Real Madrid in the group stage, when they also beat Borussia Dortmund twice and drew at Juventus before losing to the Italian champions.

The result in Barcelona reinforced their confidence. ‘It’s another big step,’ said Harry Kane. ‘There isn’t a bigger game than Barcelona away and we know if we get them again, maybe in the later stages, we know it’s in there.

‘We played Juve, Real Madrid last year and did well. It’s time to step it up and show we can do it in the knockout stages. Who knows how far we can go. It’s about belief, trying to get as far as we can. I think we’ve shown over the last few years that we’ve earned respect among the big teams in Europe.

‘That’s the difference between us and Barcelona, Madrid and Juve. They win a lot of titles year after year and that’s where we want to get. The only way to do that is prove ourselves in the big games, but I think teams respect us and whoever we play in the next round will know they have a tough game ahead.’

Spurs are gathering momentum after a difficult start, complicated by the stadium issues and so many players reaching the latter stages of the World Cup.

‘Not many people were talking about Tottenham in the Premier League,’ said Kane. ‘We get on with our job, tick over until the new year and give it a push. The Champions League, the same. A lot of people were writing us off after three games. We’ve come out of that and showed people the character we’ve got in this team.’

Like Rose, Kane was keen to stress the manager’s influence on the resilience of the team.

‘You want to fight for him,’ said Kane. ‘You want to win for him. He’s very passionate, you can tell sometimes he wants to be out there himself, putting in a tackle, and as players you respond to that.

‘On the big occasions you want to do him justice. I can’t talk highly enough of him. He’s a fantastic manager, a fantastic man and it’s always about hard work and belief.

‘That’s what he was telling us at half-time, and before the game. He kept on saying, “Just believe and use your energy, work and you will get the reward”.

'We’re buzzing, we were very happy in the changing room, but I know him, he will be focused on Saturday now and trying to beat Burnley.’