Mauricio Pochettino was not one bit happy with what he perceived to be an intention to unsettle one of his players by Jose Mourinho.
After Manchester United claimed a 1-0 victory over Spurs at Old Trafford last December, Pochettino witnessed a conversation between the United manager and Eric Dier.
Dier had become suddenly disillusioned with his position at Spurs after the summer arrival of Victor Wanyama and he continued to be linked with a move to the Red Devils in the press.
Pochettino admits that he and Dier didn’t speak as frequently as they perhaps should have in that period but he is grateful that the dialogue between player and manager has improved recently.
But when the Spurs boss discovered that Dier had been approached by United in a way that Pochettino deemed disrespectful, he was none too pleased.
“I found out that United have made an approach and the player is being destabilised,” the Argentine wrote in the Daily Mail.
“His people have been putting pressure on him, although United are not promising anything.
“Mourinho and I had finished our interviews at Old Trafford and the players were doing their warm-down on the pitch. When Jose was done with the press, he stood by the entrance to the tunnel and regarded the returning players.”
He described it more.
“He greeted Moussa Sissoko and hugged Dier. They passed by me en route to the dressing rooms, laughing, speaking in Portuguese.
“Maybe it is a common Mourinho tactic, but he put Eric in a compromising position. You cannot do that after a defeat.”
Well if Pochettino is still upset with Mourinho, he will have the chance to punish him when he takes his sparkling Spurs side to Old Trafford for a Premier League clash next weekend.
