Football
Dan Kilpatrick, Tottenham Correspondent 7y

Dele Alli: Don't get on the wrong side of Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino

Dele Alli has said he has Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino to thank for his career at the club, but he told FourFourTwo: "You don't want to get on the wrong side of him."

Under Pochettino's management, Alli, 20, has established himself as one of the finest young players in the world since joining Tottenham from MK Dons in summer 2015, scoring 10 Premier League goals before being named PFA Young Player of the Year last season.

This term, he has been even better and his goal in the 4-0 win over Stoke City on Sunday was his 12th league goal of the season so far.

"I owe him a lot of thanks for the way he's helped me to settle in, and for the opportunities he's given me. Everyone trusts him and wants to work for him," Alli said.

"You can't get complacent. Sometimes you take your foot off the pedal a little bit, but he is always there to make sure you know that everyone is fighting for a place, and that it's just as easy to come out of the team as it is to get into it. He wants you to give 100 percent all of the time. He wants the intensity that you see us playing with in matches all of the time."

Pochettino said on Sunday that he gave the 20-year-old "extra love" after he was sent off in Tottenham's 2-2 draw against Gent last week, which eliminated Spurs from the Europa League.

However, Alli has said Pochettino also has a ruthless streak, adding: "He can switch. You don't want to get on the wrong side of him. He's showed me and Eric [Dier] clips of him when he was playing at Espanyol: some were of him scoring goals, some others were of him clattering people."

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