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Pochettino explains why Dier's tackle on Ramos got Spurs boss into trouble

  /  borismok

The Tottenham manager enjoyed the midfielder's tackle on the Spain international

Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino has admitted he enjoyed Eric Dier's crunching tackle on Spain star Sergio Ramos but he admitted that his opinion has already got him into trouble in Spain.

Dier took on and tackled Ramos early on in England's UEFA Nations League match on Monday night and although he received a yellow card, despite seeming to take the ball, it set the tempo for what would end up being a 3-2 victory for Gareth Southgate's side.

Pochettino had already admitted once that he was proud of his Spurs midfielder for the tackle and that saw him receive criticism back in Spain, where he spent much of his playing career.

When asked again whether he enjoyed the challenge as a former tough-tackling player himself, he said: "Yes but you create a problem. Yesterday in what was broadcast, they put that I feel proud about the tackle and now in Spain, it's a big problem for me.

"If I say I don't feel proud, it's like I kill my player. He says 'Oh gaffer, you're not proud of me'. If I say I am proud, I kill another! Come on!"

For Pochettino the tackle showed that Dier was not scared by the prospect of taking on the top players in the world.

"Of course. The tackle was nice, eh? The tackle was good. He touched the ball, eh? No? He touched the ball. He was aggressive. In England, it's never a foul. Of course, in Europe it's different but in England it's never a foul," he explained.

"But to be brave like this … Look, Dier, a holding midfielder, was pressing Sergio Ramos in the penalty area and that is the mentality that, from day one, we tried to translate to the players. Of course, I feel proud about that. It's a fantastic attitude, that always we need to keep pushing."

He added: "The signal that you send to your opponents is important. To say, we are not scared of you. We come here and we want to beat you. Ok, we can play good or bad, or better or deserve in the end but always it's about the attitude.

"You can't win always but you are going to have the possibility to win with that attitude. With different attitudes, sure, the game was completely different and different results. Football is about attitude and then talent. With only talent you cannot beat any team. But talent with attitude is everything."

Dier has not been in his best form this season although his performances this month indicate that he may be rediscovering his higher gears.

"Football is about perception and always the last performance is the perception that keeps in our minds – in our fans and everyone," said Pochettino.

"Of course, for me, I always judge the players that they need to improve and improve and improve and always I try to translate that. It's the same when you don't perform as well, you need to move on and forget, as when you play well and get a very good result. Then, you need to move on and try to repeat the same performance.

"If you don't perform well, you need to perform better. If you perform well, you need to keep your level and always move on, move on, move on. That is the idea."