Mauricio Pochettino slams journalists for showing ‘disrespect’ to Tottenham players after Inter Milan defeat

Mauricio Pochettino lost his cool after Tottenham’s dramatic 2-1 defeat against Inter Milan, slapping down a journalist with a four-letter tirade after being asked about the absence of Toby Alderweireld and Kieran Trippier.

The pair were omitted for "tactical reasons" from the Spurs group that travelled to Milan, but Pochettino insisted that Spurs were the better side at the San Siro despite conceding two late goals to register their third straight defeat, and bristled at the suggestion that the decision to leave two international defenders at home might have been a mistake.

“Please don’t disrespect the players who were playing,” he said, referring to Davinson Sanchez and Serge Aurier who played in place of Trippier and Alderweireld. “We have 25 players. And sometimes you behave” - and here, Pochettino was addressing the entire room of journalists as a whole - “that when you play only 11, the other 13 or 14 players are s***.

“Wow, what a question. Such an easy question. An easy target. It’s easy to talk about the players that aren’t here, like Hugo [Lloris] or Dele Alli or [Moussa] Sissoko. I think we need to talk about football. Because you disrespect the players that today showed better qualities than the opponent.

“Sorry. But I am so disappointed, because I am a person that respects you a lot. When I play an XI, you must respect my decision, because I am the manager. You cannot disrespect. Sorry. You are so kind people, but I don’t understand why. To be a player is so difficult. It is so painful to hear when some people are not here, and you judge and you kill players who give their best. It's so unfair.”

The surprising element about Pochettino’s outburst was that he had actually been in a fairly pleasant mood up to that point, given the circumstances. He insisted that for all Tottenham’s problems in possession and at defending set pieces, it was their best performance of the season to date, and that despite a third straight defeat he saw signs that the team was on an upward curve. Perhaps, in hindsight, that was the moment it should have become clear that he was not quite thinking straight.

“Until 86 minutes, we controlled the game,” he said. “We created big chances to score, I think [Inter goalkeeper Samir] Handanovic was fantastic, and in Europe, until you kill the game, it’s not over. That is football. But we showed better quality than Inter Milan.

“I think that was our best performance since the start of the season. The circumstances in pre-season weren’t the best, and of course we are suffering. But that is not an excuse, it is only a reality. We need to improve a lot. And I told you after [the 3-0 win over] Manchester United: be careful, be careful, and then the tough period arrived.

“When the dynamic is not good, the most important thing is to work harder than before and be strong. But today, I started to see good signs that the team is coming back again. We showed great personality, and we controlled a team in the San Siro. It was unlucky at the end that we didn’t get the result that the team deserved.”

Inter captain Mauro Icardi was jubilant after his equalising volley with four minutes left. “The ball fell to me so nicely,” he said. “I hit it perfectly and fortunately it went in. We deserved the victory, because we tried until the final whistle. I’m happy for the team, for the fans, and for myself, of course. It was a great Champions League debut.”