Tottenham will take on Watford at Vicarage Road on New Year’s Day, desperate for their fourth-straight Premier League victory.

Pochettino joked that Watford mascot Harry the Hornet would not have the guts to try the diving joke that backfired on Wilfried Zaha on Spurs’ fiery midfield star Alli.

Crystal Palace boss Sam Allardyce branded the Watford mascot’s light-hearted dive in front of Zaha following last weekend’s 1-1 draw as “out of order”.

“I think the mascot would be scared to do it in front of Alli,” joked Pochettino.

“If I put myself in Palace’s shoes I can understand why they were upset.

“It was funny for the Watford supporters, but it was a stupid action, a stupid thing.

“We need to be careful with that, because in that situation you can upset people for a stupid thing.

“But, OK, it was the mascot trying to be funny but he doesn’t realise it could be a big problem.

“You need to laugh, no? Because the mascot is being funny with people and trying to encourage the crowd.

“Maybe he’ll learn from that situation – or maybe they’ll change the mascot!”