Erik Lamela has credited Tottenham coach Mauricio Pochettino for being instrumental in turning his career around at White Hart Lane, and believes this is his best season ever as a footballer.

Lamela endured a difficult first two years at Spurs following on from his 25.7million transfer from Roma in 2013, but has gone on to show a marked improvement in form under Pochettino this term.

The 23-year-old has scored eight goals in all competitions for the north London side - who currently sit in second place in the Premier League table - including his first career hat-trick in Spurs' 4-1 Europa League group-stage victory over Monaco in December while he created the winning goal for Christian Eriksen in Tottenham's win over contenders Manchester City recently.

And Lamela has admitted his revitalised form is down to Pochettino and his training methods although he conceded he is still surprised at how much the Tottenham boss demands from his players.

"Mauricio has been so helpful," he said. "This is my third season at Tottenham and, at the beginning, it was really hard for me. But Pochettino has improved everything.

"He is so demanding during the week and we train so hard. I'm still surprised by the intensity he demands during the training sessions.

"I have accepted that I don't play all the games - it's actually impossible to play every game.

"Honestly, I think I'm having the best season of my career."