Pochettino: 'Disrespectful' Guardiola struggles to be a gentleman

The Catalan coach struck a nerve with the Argentine boss, who has labelled his opposite number 'sad and ungentlemanly'

boss Mauricio Pochettino has taken a swing at Pep Guardiola after the Manchester City boss referred to Spurs as 'the Harry Kane team'.

Guardiola had been asked for his thoughts on the title race, to which he replied that and would be tough opponents alongside Pochettino's Kane-led charges.

The White Hart Lane boss has not taken kindly to the Catalan's comments, however, claiming that his opposite number was disrespectful to other players within the London club.

“I know Pep,” the Argentine said, “When he's excited after an amazing win he struggles to keep his position and be a gentleman.

“It was disrespectful for many.

“When he was at Barca I never said 'the Messi team'

"I think it’s a sad comment because the players laugh about that. If you’re a manager you must show more, no? To be above this type of comment."

Whether Guardiola's comments were intended to unsettle a Premier League title rival is a topic for debate, but Kane's recent form in front of goal makes it easy to see why he has been singled out for praise.

The striker had helped guide his country to the World Cup with some important strikes, bagging four goals in three matches whilst wearing the captain's armband for the Three Lions.

To put things into further perspective, Kane has found the net 36 times from 147 shots in competitive games in 2017, while Saturday's opponents Bournemouth have scored 36 times from 371 shots spread throughout their whole squad.

Following Pep's comments, Kane's killer instinct could cause Pochettino another headache further down the line, too, with September's Premier League player of the month being linked with a big-money move to Spanish champions .

The 24-year-old insists he is happy with life in London for the time being, but recently failed to rule out the possibility of a move abroad.