Tottenham Hotspur

Mauricio Pochettino: 'There is a player power problem in football'

By Giuseppe Labellarte, Reporter | 20 August 2017

Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino feels that there is "a problem" with player power in football as they prepare to face a Chelsea side missing Diego Costa.

Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has suggested that 'player power' is a problem in football.

Spurs host Chelsea on Sunday afternoon in the Premier League, with Blues striker Diego Costa currently at loggerheads with his club.

The Spain striker did not report back to Stamford Bridge for pre-season and remains in his native Brazil, where he has been pushing for a move to Atletico Madrid.

When asked about the concept of players exercising power over their clubs, Pochettino told reporters ahead of Sunday's game: "In general I think there is a problem.

"The most important [thing] is always the club, and then, of course, our fans. Then come the players, the manager, and the coaching staff. It's very dangerous for every club if the players feel that they are more important than the club and the fans and are on a superior level.

"But I don't feel that. Maybe I am lucky because in Espanyol, in Southampton, or here in Tottenham, I think the balance is very good. At the end of the day you need to have good players. But the level of the players, the attitude, how they are, how they behave, is so important."

Spurs defender Danny Rose was briefly in the headlines this summer following a controversial interview in which he appeared to criticise several aspects of the club.