Saturday 17 January 2015 09:53, UK
Mauricio Pochettino says he is not too concerned that Jermain Defoe, who has spent much of past week training at Tottenham, will face his old side on Saturday when he turns out for Sunderland at White Hart Lane.
Defoe, who has played more than 350 games for Spurs during his career, moved to the Black Cats this week, signing a three-and-a-half year deal on Wearside.
And Tottenham’s 42-year-old manager wished him well, even though the north London club face Sunderland in the Premier League this weekend.
Defoe, who ended his stay with MLS team Toronto by agreeing to be part of a swap deal with American Jozy Altidore, recently trained with Tottenham’s development squad.
But when asked at the pre-match press conference on Friday whether Defoe might take some insider knowledge of the Spurs camp with him to the north-east, Pochettino said: “
Asked if signing Defoe was a gamble, Pochettino replied: "It's not me that needs to answer this question. It's a question for (Sunderland boss) Gus Poyet.
"All the best for Jermain in his new era in his career. Always, we need to be focused on our players, but Defoe is a big finisher and a very good striker.
"He showed his quality here and in the last season at Toronto, but we have three great strikers and we are confident in our players.
"He was training with the under-21s last week. All the best, because he spent time here in the last few days. For him, he is a very good player and a very good guy."
Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino will hope Defoe does not continue his record of scoring on his debut for every professional club he has played for.
Pochettino is likely to welcome back a host of first-team regulars for the visit of Sunderland after making seven changes for Wednesday's FA Cup third-round replay victory over Burnley.
Top goalscorer Harry Kane and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris are two faces likely to return, with Pochettino continuing to juggle his squad as they challenge of four fronts.
As well as a domestic campaign to get back into the Champions League, Tottenham are still in the FA Cup, Capital One Cup and Europa League, but Pochettino is not worried about the possibility of fixture congestion.
"It's a good thing for us because we are still in four competitions and it's important for the club," he said.
"I think that we are the Premier League team who have played more official games than anyone, but it's a good challenge for us. It's for that (reason) it's important to have the strong squad, because you need players available to play.
"I'm not worried. We need to work hard and analyse every single decision and after try to keep our players fit for every game. It's important for that to go step by step, game by game. It's important to analyse every player and every single decision that we take."
