Mauricio Pochettino seldom conducts interviews in England, perhaps due to those lasting memories of his words potentially being used against him. However he’s a lot more receptive to talking to Spanish-speaking media outlets and yesterday he spoke with EFE in Spain about a variety of subjects, although mainly Tottenham Hotspur, but also with bits and pieces on Diego Costa and Pep Guardiola’s uneasy start to life at Manchester City.

Does Tottenham have the Pochettino ‘mark’ on it?

At every level; the coaching staff has left its mark and [our] personality. All of which is thanks to its components, its members and day-to-day [work]. Each coaching team imposes its own philosophy and energy. In our case it’s similar with me at the head, we have our specific mark which we want the team to show in each match.

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Tottenham’s style stands out because the full-backs bring a lot to the attack. Is Danny Rose the ‘new Marcelo’?

[Laughing] If you told him that he’d be very happy, Marcelo’s a player he likes a lot. We have an idea, a philosophy, in which we like to use full-backs who can get forward, who use the lanes. They’re important in that area of the pitch and the position is special. We’ve got footballers like [Kyle] Walker and Rose who give us what we’re looking for. We also have Ben Davies and Kieran Trippier, young players who help make the starters improve, who are ready and bring the competition that’s needed.

Tell me about Christian Eriksen..

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He’s a player who has this great ability to make the team tick and also make his teammates look better. He is, without doubt, someone very special, a football who interprets, without needing to be told, what his teammates can do. He’s the brain, the player who helps everyone else understand the game better.

Dele Alli looks better with each passing game..

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He’s a player who is very aggressive in attack. He’s ruthless when he charges forward and with determination, which makes him very dangerous. He’s got a great understanding of the game and attacks spaces majestically, has a good mentality and is confident in himself. His emergence is the most important in English football in the last few years.

The evolution of goalkeeper training has been incredible in the last few years. What does Toni Jimenez bring to that side of the game? And what job do your assistants, Jesus Perez and Miguel D’Agostino, do?

When I started my career in coaching, and thanks to my special relationship with Toni (goalkeeper coach), I started to pay attention to the goalkeepers. It’s a different role to everyone else that needs individual work but mixed with ideas of the team via the coaching team. I don’t say this because he’s my friend and goalkeeper coach but Toni’s designed a method which makes him unique and his concepts work perfectly with our philosophy.

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