Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino believes the demands of modern football are risking the fitness of his Premier League stars.

During a remarkable attack on the sport's decision-makers, who 'never play or touch the football', the exasperated coach said his players are 'not machines'.

Pochettino urged the Premier League to be 'organised better', suggesting that the start of the season could have been delayed to allow those who played in Euro 2016 to recover properly.

Mauricio Pochettino believes demands of modern football are risking fitness of his stars

The Tottenham gets his point across to his players during a training session at Wembley

During Tottenham's opening weekend draw with Everton, goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, who reached the Euro 2016 final with France, succumbed to a hamstring injury. Pochettino will now be without his captain for a month.

He said managers 'need to be like we are in the circus, juggling'.

Pochettino said: 'If you play the player, and he gets injured, it's because you need to give rest. If you don't play him, and you lose the game, you had international players and did not use them — the media, the supporters and the board and the president kill me. If you don't win the game, you are guilty.

Hugo Lloris (left) suffered a hamstring injury on the opening day of the new season

'Always it's the manager's fault, always. The problem is the organisation of the competition. You cannot play the Euros and start (the league) on August 13. How can you give rest to the players?

'You are in competition during 12 months, or 11-and-a-half months. And the players don't deserve holidays just because you pay them good salaries? Come on. And their families? The kids? They are not machines, they are not machines.'

Tottenham had 11 players at Euro 2016, in addition to Erik Lamela at the Copa America. Those who played at the Euros were left behind for the club's summer tour of Australia, as Tottenham's fitness experts deemed them to be in no state to play at that stage. They then had less than three weeks to prepare for the new season.

Victor Wanyama (left) in pre-season and the fitness coach deemed the players in no fit state

Pochettino supported views aired by Diego Maradona, his fellow Argentine. 'The problem is that in football, the managers and players need to make the decisions about the competitions,' he said.

'I agree with Maradona sometimes when he complains about football: the people who take the decisions about football are people who never touch the football. And that is the problem. That is the problem.

'But it is difficult to change. Because in between business, football, sports, there are many things that happen. And football is not an ordinary business.

Pochettino said he agreed with Diego Maradona and his complaints about football

'Our players are athletes, special athletes. They need pre-season, they need to train properly, they need to rest, they need good food.