Dele Alli has admitted that he blamed himself for the sacking of Mauricio Pochettino last week from Tottenham.
Speaking to The Telegraph, the 23-year-old England international confessed that in the immediate aftermath of Pochettino’s dismissal from Spurs he felt that he was to blame for the Argentine manager receiving the chop.
Alli has been one of the players to be called out by supporters and pundits in recent months with Spurs for underperforming, with Gareth Southgate dropping the midfielder for England this season as reported by BBC Sport.
Alli said about Pochettino’s sacking: “When it first happened, you just blame yourself. You are sad and don’t look at the big picture. We have had some amazing journeys together, we have all grown together, all the players and coaching staff.
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“We have achieved a lot in terms of where we have come from. We are thankful to them, you can’t help but feel you are a bit to blame. I gave 110% and sometimes it does not work out. The chairman made his decision. Now as players we have a new manager, we owe the club a lot and we have to start winning games again.”
The former MK Dons star was one of the many players to flourish under Pochettino, with the Argentine manager calling Alli the best 21-year-old in football at the time in 2018, with the former Spurs boss saying via Four Four Two: “When you compare Dele Alli, 21 years old, with all the players in the world – not only in Europe, in the world – I think he is the best.”
And new Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho has already had a positive effect on Alli since his appointment, with the Portuguese manager giving the 23-year-old attacker plenty of praise after Spurs’ 3-2 win over West Ham this weekend.
The former Manchester United manager said about Alli via The Independent: “(Alli’s) too good to not be one of the best players in the world and not playing with the national team. I’m happy with him, I spent a few minutes with him in training and outside the pitch. And we were saying that the best Dele Alli has to be back.”