Football
Dan Kilpatrick, Tottenham Correspondent 7y

Tottenham made Fulham FA Cup win look easy - Mauricio Pochettino

LONDON -- Mauricio Pochettino says Tottenham made Sunday's 3-0 FA Cup win against Fulham look easy but he refused to talk about the prospect of winning the competition.

Spurs responded from back-to-back defeats to Liverpool in the Premier League and KAA Gent in the Europa League to progress to the quarterfinals courtesy of a Harry Kane hat trick.

"In football always when you lose, after two defeats, it's difficult to turn that feeling. It was important for us. I feel pleased that all the players wanted to play and take the responsibility," the Spurs manager told a postmatch news conference.

"Today, we were in a very difficult stadium, against a very difficult team -- because Fulham is a very good team that tries to play, with a great manager and very good players. It was very difficult before.

"After 3-0, it looks easy but because we took the game in a very good way with full respect from them. We played like we need to play in every game."

Pochettino rested goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, Kyle Walker and Mousa Dembele but otherwise named a full-strength team, with Jan Vertonghen returning from five weeks on the sidelines to play 90 minutes and Kane the star despite taking a knock in Gent on Thursday.

"My intention is always to take the best decision for the team, to pick the best players to try to win," Pochettino said. "That's always my objective. It's always about collective effort. Always playing for Tottenham is playing with a better team, better players. I believe in the whole squad and sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. It's about managing 24 to 25 players.

"My decision was taken before yesterday's [FA Cup] results. When we assessed the players after Thursday, many players wanted to play -- they didn't feel that they were tired.

"It was a great opportunity today to show that we are alive and turn the feeling after two defeats. And prepare in a good way for the Europa League. Next Thursday we have another final at Wembley. We need to feel fresh. This was a big boost of confidence."

Kane played the full game despite getting a small injury in midweek.

"He [Kane] got a knock. It wasn't bad. He arrived in a very good condition to play today. We didn't take a risk," Pochettino added. "Before the game, in our evaluation there was some risk and maybe he was on the bench. But we assessed again and it wasn't a risk for him to play.

"He doesn't only score goals. He's a great player, a great person. He's a good professional. His commitment with the club, the team, the coaching staff. He is a good example for all. We feel very proud of him not only as a player but as a man."

Asked if Spurs could win the FA Cup, Pochettino stressed the importance of Thursday's Europa League round-of-32 second leg at Wembley, with Spurs trailing 1-0 from the first leg in Belgium.

"First of all, we need to wait for the draw and play the quarterfinals. It's too easy to speak about winning some trophies," he said. "Now we need to focus on Thursday and forget today.

"Thursday is a massive game for us. We need to win; we need to go to the next round. Now is not to speak about the FA Cup. We need to focus on Thursday against Gent and our supporters at Wembley. We need to put all our energy and find a way to win in the Europa League."

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