Pochettino not a fan of international duty

Pochettino's side are are battling their way through a hectic run of five games in 13 days, culminating in Saturday's Premier League trip to Crystal Palace.

With the likes of Dele Alli, Eric Dier, Christian Eriksen all picking up injuries, Spurs' manager admitted that he would rather not send his players out on intenational duty. 

"Yes it is true if you said to me would you prefer all my international players stay here and rest for two weeks without competition, I would say yes," he told the 'Daily Mail'.

"But that is impossible. That is why we were talking before about Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen and international duty.

"It is play, play, then move them there and play again. If you see our schedule for the next few months it will be so tough. How do you manage that?

"I understand we need to sacrifice some games for some players so they can cope with the demand in the future."

"Of course now every time I decide to pick my starting XI I have a name I feel comfortable to play," he added.

"It's so important. Because competition in football is an important thing that puts pressure on yourself. It's not only the pressure from the coaching staff, fans and club.

"It's from your team-mate. "If you are not ready I'll take your place".

"The most important thing is when you players start to feel pressure from their team-mates pushing you to move and be conscious and responsible to increase your level. That is a very good thing that happens in teams that need to win", he added.