Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino has backtracked on the comments he made comparing Spurs youngster Marcus Edwards to Barcelona great Lionel Messi.

The Argentinian manager has developed a reputation for cultivating youth talent, with the likes of Harry kane, Dele Alli, Harry Winks and Kyle Walker-Peters all featuring prominently under his tutelage.

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But Edwards, despite being compared to Messi by his manager, hasn't quite made the jump as yet. And Pochettino has gone on to admit that his juxtaposing of the two players was perhaps ill-advised.

"Sometimes I wonder whether it was wise to liken him to Messi," the coach said in Brave New World, a book written by journalist Guillem Balague. "He's only 17. At that age, Messi was making his debut for a Barcelona side featuring Ronaldinho."

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Pochettino also revealed that the 18-year-old has problems dealing with figures in authority, as well as adapting to the life of being a professional.

"They're from different families, backgrounds and cultures. One of them thinks like an Argentinian and the other like an Englishman," he continued.

"Marcus is still in the process of adapting to the rigours or being a professional, which require you to act and think differently, be disciplined and make sacrifices. He has authority and behavioural problems, and we have to look at the bigger picture to find out the root cause."

"Our challenge is to get him to accept the pathway we've laid out for him, and it's our responsibility to make sure he behaves himself when he trains with the first team. He has no shortage of talent, but there are gaps to be filled: he has to learn to score ugly, run more and be committed."