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Mauricio Pochettino confirmed that Tottenham Hotspur have made a new addition to their recruitment staff and also gave plenty of updates on player injuries.

The Spurs boss was speaking to the media at Hotspur Way ahead of Saturday's Premier League match at Liverpool and he was asked about the injuries to Danny Rose, Erik Lamela, Jan Vertonghen and Kieran Trippier.

He was also asked about the rumour that Steve Hitchen, who played his part in bringing Luka Modric to the club during a previous spell at Spurs, was returning to the club and the manager was rather forthcoming.

While Pochettino confirmed that rumour was true, he did say he was not a direct replacement for head of recruitment Paul Mitchell, who is currently serving his notice period at the club after handing in his resignation last summer.

Here are the key questions and answers from the press conference:

Is the rumour about Steve Hitchen true?

Sometimes the rumours are true. Yes, Hitchen is true. You know I don't like to lie, it's true, but we will wait until the club announce. It's a different position but I can confirm that he has been working since Monday.

Latest on Danny Rose?

He is very positive, we are very positive, he is happy. I was talking with him now before press conference, we are happy after he saw the specialist. It's not a big issue, a minor problem, small problem. We hope as soon as possible he can be available again. There are too much rumours, we need to be patient. He is very optimistic, we are happy and you will see. It’s only time.

Other injuries

Jan Vertonghen, maybe next week will be available to work with the team. We are very positive and optimistic with him. With Erik Lamela we are very happy, positive and optimistic but I cannot give the date that maybe he starts to work. Kieran Trippier has been training from Monday with the group. We hope he is available for Liverpool.

So many leaders at Spurs

That is good. For me every player has the quality/capacity to be a lead. We have Lloris, the captain of France, maybe he can give better advice, but Dele Alli, he has personality and character, maybe he becomes leader in a few years. Every player in squad has leadership qualities, just need time to develop them.

It’s important to have good character and always work to win, not say ‘I want to win’ – show you want it with behaviour, attitude. Enthusiasm is important, your own motivation. If you have character and good personality and you are a leader, it’s a natural quality. I am happy with the personality and the way they move in the changing room, our performance is good. We can win or lose but I am very happy.

Putting a gap between Tottenham and Liverpool?

I’m thinking about the top of the table. That is not the problem today. Important thing is to win as objective is reduce the gap to Chelsea, for that we need to be ready to fight. Very difficult game. They’re not in a good run but have very good players, one of best squads in England and Europe, they will be motivated as this is always a big match.

Similar style to Liverpool?

We have a clear idea of how want to play, similar principles but we're not the same. We respect Liverpool a lot, way they play. We need to be clever like them.

When we play them it will be very high-tempo, intense. It's a very tough game for both sides. We never change the way we play. Sometimes we use different formations or different players to play but in our principles we never change, like them or Chelsea, United or Southampton. All teams have principles. Every coaching staff has their style, all want to impose their ideas.

Danger of Liverpool and Spurs overworking players?

We try to provide the team and players with the best conditions to enjoy themselves on the pitch. That’s our first concern about our team. We're not a staff who cross the limit. We are a very sensitive coaching staff and yes, maybe we want to win and we work for that.

I cannot speak for another coach but it's like all the managers, Klopp with his experience, he is clever like other managers to provide good balance

What we can do, some people talking, give their opinions. We need to respect but the truth is football has a lot of areas you need to control. If you win you are a genius if you don’t win you are criticised.

You need to be naturally spontaneous and believe in the way you play, use your methods. It’s an easy answer, only work in the way you believe you can achieve big things.