• ‘Let’s move on,’ says manager after defender apologises • Spurs will buy players but it may not be until final day of window

Mauricio Pochettino said he has forgiven Danny Rose for comments that criticised Tottenham Hotspur’s lack of transfer activity and cast doubt on the player’s future, and has stressed he wants the left-back to stay.

The defender gave an interview in which he said Spurs should steer clear of acquisitions that “you have to Google”, but on Friday Pochettino named several players who would not have become top-class performers if the chance to rise from relative obscurity had not occurred.

“When you sign players like Eric Dier, who nobody knew, or Dele Alli, who was in League One. I don’t think it’s a matter to joke about because with some of the international players today, maybe one or two years ago, none of us knew them very well.

“If you remember five years ago, people asked: ‘Who is Pochettino?’. They may have used Google or Chrome or Yahoo. Then they all looked straightaway to the penalty [he conceded against England for Argentina in 1998]. That killed me.”

The latter statement was a rare injection of levity during a briefing that, in a notable departure from his usual behaviour, Pochettino conducted almost entirely in Spanish with interpretation from his assistant, Jesús Pérez.

That has rarely been necessary over the past couple of seasons as his command of English has improved; Pochettino explained it away by saying he was tired but his defensive tone heightened the sense he feared adding to the uneasy situation Rose’s remarks may have exposed.

“You need to understand that he gave his opinion,” he said, when asked whether it was a problem that Tottenham players are generally not paid as much as their peers at other top-six clubs. “And then to know you need to ask every single player if they are happy or not happy. I don’t understand why I have to answer this question. The player has shown regret and apologised for what he said regarding everything.”

Rose’s public show of contrition on Friday afternoon brought forgiveness from Pochettino, the manager confirming Rose remains in his plans and saying, “The moment he apologised everyone moved on”. He would not comment on the suggestion Rose may have simply been saying what others in the squad were thinking.

“You can judge the situation,” he said. “Because if he apologised for what he said, we don’t know if he is [still] thinking the same thing or not. Him, not the team.”

Pochettino went on to reject any idea of unrest and said: “I think the team are very united. You have access to the other players so you can ask them.”

Among Rose’s comments was that, when his next contract is agreed, “I will make sure I get what I am worth”. In fact the England international signed a new five-year deal at Tottenham last September; Pochettino explained he has no role in deciding players’ salaries – a situation in contrast to the more hands-on approach of his counterpart at Arsenal, Arsène Wenger.

“I leave that to the chairman, I’m not involved in negotiation,” he said. “Wenger has the capacity to decide to give contracts and do whatever he wants to do as he’s been there 22 or 23 [sic] years.”

Pochettino expects to augment his squad before the end of the transfer window and has not ruled out making additions on the final day. That would appear to place extra pressure on any arrivals to settle quickly but he feels it has not been a problem in previous seasons.

“I’m not worried,” he said. “I don’t want to compare us with other clubs, who have made signings before us in the previous two seasons and [then] we have finished above them.”

On the surface it has not been the smoothest of weeks to prepare for a Premier League opener at Newcastle but Pochettino, who saw his team record an encouraging 2-0 friendly win over Juventus at Wembley last Saturday, believes his team’s focus remains resolute.

“I’m relaxed, because when you see the team and the players they are so focused,” he said. “We were focused from the beginning of pre-season to challenge and try again to prepare ourselves to compete in a very tough league, I think the toughest in the world.

“When you see the team so relaxed, so calm and so focused to prepare for the game on Sunday then that is the most important thing for me to feel. If I feel that, how can I be nervous?”