Football
9y

Christian Eriksen: Tottenham still adapting to Mauricio Pochettino

Christian Eriksen has conceded that Tottenham remain a "work in progress'' under Mauricio Pochettino.

Eriksen has been a cornerstone of Pochettino's first season at White Hart Lane, although Spurs have suffered from inconsistency so far.

They currently sit 11th in the Premier League -- having won just three of their first nine matches under the former Southampton boss -- but Eriksen is unsurprised that the transition has not been seamless.

"As players, we are all trying to adapt to Mauricio's new style of play and we won't know everything straight away,'' he told the Evening Standard. "It is still a work in progress but, hopefully, we won't take too long to get it right.

"We could have done better in some games. We have had some good results but some disappointing defeats too, although it is easy to forget that we are still working with a new manager.

"You can already see that we are starting to play the way he wants us to, and the more we work together, the better the results will be. We have been saying that it is important to have a high level of performance in our upcoming games.''

Spurs face Brighton in the Capital One Cup on Wednesday and Seagulls boss Sami Hyypia is preparing to come up against a familiar foe.

Hyypia regularly faced Tottenham during his successful 10 years as a centre-back with Liverpool.

The Finn is finding management in England a little tougher, with Brighton languishing one place above the Championship's relegation zone following 10 matches without a win.

However, Hyypia has urged his struggling side to play with no fear when they run out at White Hart Lane.

"I don't fear any game. Anything can happen. The score can be anything,'' he told the Argus. "We can go there and win, we can go there and lose. It's very important that we concentrate on how we play there and how we present ourselves.

"We need to have the courage, we don't have to fear them. They have good individuals and they can really hurt you if they are on top of their game but we don't have to fear them.''

The Capital One Cup has provided a welcome distraction from Brighton's league struggles, but Hyypia insists the club, who reached the playoffs in the last two seasons, can still have a successful campaign.

"I have high targets for this season still and we still have time to reach those targets, but something needs to change,'' he said. "We need to toughen up and then hopefully we'll get the results as well.''

^ Back to Top ^