Not time for Pochettino to go- Poyet

Tottenham have endured a miserable week but it is not time for Mauricio Pochettino to leave, according to former Spurs midfielder Gus Poyet.

Tottenham were thrashed 7-2 at home to Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Tuesday and followed up that defeat with another dismal outing at Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday, going down 3-0.

Spurs ended last season in the Champions League final but were sixth in the Premier League at full-time against Brighton, having played a game more than the rest of the top half.

Pressure is building on manager Pochettino, who has not won a trophy with the club, yet Poyet believes it would be best for all involved if he is given the opportunity to turn Tottenham's fortunes around.

"I think he needs to stay. I don't think it's the moment," Poyet, who ended his playing career with the club in 2004, told the BBC World Service.

"I know Mauricio, I played against him in Spain. I know he's a fighter as well as an excellent manager. He's been showing that in the last few years. He wouldn't want to go now, not at all. He will want to make sure he gets everybody back in a good place, a happier place, to try to pick the best team to go and perform and, obviously, put the performance and the result behind [them]. That's what everybody needs at Tottenham right now. These are bad times but, in football, we know things change very quickly. I am sure Mauricio is going to be ready to fight in this bad moment."

Spurs do not play again for a fortnight due to the international break, which Poyet thinks will be helpful as he claimed the players look "very, very worried".

"Normally, when you lose in a bad way, it's good to have a game straight away after two or three days," he said. "There's no time to reflect too much, just prepare the game and play.

"But it's happened too many times now. It's time to say, 'Woah, woah, woah, stop.' They can relax for a while. I'm sure some of the players are at least not going to come back from the international break very, very worried, because that's how they look now. Their faces on the pitch, when they make a pass and miss, you can see the players are very, very worried about the situation, which is natural.

"Sometimes that needs something external - not training all together again for two weeks, no double sessions getting even worse."

Tottenham crashed out of the EFL Cup last month when they lost on penalties to Colchester United, but Poyet still hopes to see Pochettino deliver silverware.

"I would love him to do it," he added. "I think he deserves to bring trophies - not just for the club but for him, for what he's done for the club. I said last season, when I thought everything was set for Spurs to win the Champions League, it looked like it was their year. Some players and especially Pochettino, who has been at Spurs for so long, deserve to win a trophy."