“A big name player without nothing…” – Pochettino fires serious warning to £195,000K a-week- man who needs to “make more effort”
Pochettino felt joyful, then sad, then happy again, buoyed by the bonus of a large win, but disturbed by the rumors about his future. He really got into it and made some strong, rather spontaneous remarks about some of his players during the press conference that was under embargo.
In response to a rather innocent inquiry regarding Christopher Nkunku and Levi Colwill’s status for the Sunday match, Pochettino stated that no player should anticipate returning to the starting lineup unless they were prepared to put in the same amount of effort as the starting lineup did last night:
“The players coming back from injury, they know, and now they’re really going to feel [the competition for places]. They need to make the effort. Just because you’re a big name doesn’t mean you have the right to play, and play the way they want,” Pochettino warned.
“The most important thing is to work for the team, giving your best… if you don’t compete, or your level is 50%, it’s better to have a lesser player competing at 100%.”
This felt very much aimed at Nkunku, given the coach’s comments about his effort earlier in the season:
“He needs also to understand he has to push himself. He needs to make double effort because he must have an impact,” the Argentine warned back at Christmas.
A big warning for a big player
It’s a shame it’s come to this – it all started so brightly in the summer when Nkunku was the creative hub we had been dreaming he would be. Since then it’s been a rapid decline.
Constant injuries didn’t help, but there’s no getting around the fact that even in the period he was fit in February, he flat out lost his place in the team. Let’s hope this boot up the backside is just what he needs.