Mauricio Pochettino ‘reacted angrily’ when questioned about his decision to leave two defenders out of his Champions League squad after his side lost in hilarious fashion in Milan on Tuesday night.

The Spurs manager declared himself ‘so disappointed’ with the question from a journalist about leaving Kieran Trippier and Toby Alderweireld at home saying, “We need to talk about football. I am so disappointed with this question.”

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What is football if you can’t even talk about team selection choices?

“Regrets? Why? Why? Against Watford and Liverpool, they [Alderweireld and Trippier] were on the pitch,” Pochettino fumed after the match. “What a question. Easy targets. It is so easy to talk about the players not here. The same with Hugo Lloris and Dele Alli and Moussa Sissoko, who are injured. We need to talk about football. I am so disappointed with this question.

“You force me to say something not good. You disrespect the players who today showed their quality. Why disrespect them? You can blame me and say you were rubbish gaffer with your selection, but don’t blame the people who played.

“Sometimes you ask like you can only play 11. Another 14 are sh*t, are rubbish, I don’t know. It’s so easy. I am so disappointed. I respect you a lot. I respect the players. You disrespect the players. I don’t understand why. Being a player is so difficult. For me, it’s easier on the touchline. I don’t run. It’s painful to hear you killing people who give their best.”

Tottenham were winning one-nil in the San Siro with just a few minutes remaining only to lose the game 2-1, their third defeat in a row (and first time Pochetttino has lost three-in-a-row as Spurs boss) and, coincidentally, the third game in a row Harry Kane has failed to find the target.

Pochettino’s comments have more than a little Mourinho whiff to them – a manager trying to distract from his team’s failings on the pitch – but the Argentine doesn’t come close to Jose’s league.

This follows after it was revealed that Spurs banned reporters from asking Lucas Moura about his support for a far-right Brazilian politician.

Could it be the pressure of a troublesome 2018 is beginning to tell?

Worth noting

When writing this up, I read both the Daily Mail and the Daily Telegraph’s reports. The quotes above are from the Telegraph as the Mail altered them to make them less harsh.

Daily Mail’s version:

“Easy targets. It is so easy to talk about the players not here. The same with Hugo Lloris and Dele Alli and Moussa Sissoko, who are injured. We need to talk about football. I am so disappointed with this question.

“You disrespect the players who today showed their quality. Why disrespect them? You can blame me and say you were rubbish, gaffer, with your selection. But don’t blame the people who played.

“We have 25 players and you can only play 11. Being a player is so difficult. For me, it is easier on the touchline. It’s painful for me to hear you killing the people who give their best.”