Training-ground meetings paid dividends – Pochettino

Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino praised his side’s attitude in a 3-0 FA Cup victory over Fulham on Sunday, revealing he held training-ground meetings to uncover the reason behind recent back-to-back defeats.

Spurs lost at Liverpool in the Premier League last weekend before being beaten 1-0 by Gent in the Europa League on Thursday.

But Harry Kane fired Pochettino’s men into the sixth round with a hat-trick at Craven Cottage, securing just their third away win in all competitions since the end of September.

Pochettino opted to start seven of the players who began the Liverpool defeat and was delighted by the way his charges managed to end a largely disappointing week on a high note.

“I am very pleased,” he told BBC Sport. “We started the game with great urgency. We tried to show that we wanted to go to the next round. I am very happy after two defeats.

“We had to recover the right feeling after two defeats. We had to believe in the way we work and play and that is what is important. We had lost that a little bit.

“We’ve had some meetings at the training ground to find out why and recover that winning feeling. Our attitude was spot on. It’s a big boost of confidence. 

“We showed we can cope and fight and the reaction today was very good.”

The Argentinian did not, however, single goal hero Kane out for special praise, choosing instead to focus upon what was a strong overall team display.

“It is always important for the striker to find the net, [but] we are a collective, there can be different names [on the scoresheet], but we must compete,” he added.

Opposite number Slavisa Jokanovic, meanwhile, accepted that the Championship side had been outclassed by their Premier League visitors.

“They showed great respect to us,” he said. “They chose a very strong team and they didn’t want any risks. 

“They dominated all of the game, they had it under control and put us in a difficulty we are not used to.

“Now we have to concentrate on the games in front of us. We must be optimists and fight for the top six.”