Tottenham have ‘enough quality’ to cope without Jan Vertonghen, says Mauricio Pochettino

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino has revealed he is very happy at the club and is planning to stay long-term, despite reported interest from Chelsea.

Mauricio Pochettino has been able to field a stable side with the best defensive record in the top-flight, only conceding 19 goals all season.

Vertonghen’s absence has had many Spurs fans wondering if the club will make any last-minute moves to help shore up the defense in his absence. I understand why the media, ask me, ‘Why rotate?’ and ‘Why not play with a strong team?’ We have another youngster from the academy, Cameron Carter-Vickers. “He’s very young but that’s why we signed him and now maybe he has more facility to play”.

“I would think it will be a similar team to the one we played down in Cobham so I think we need to have a good set-up be well disciplined when we don’t have the ball”. “We’re not anxious, I think we’ve shown we’ve got enough quality to compete across all the competitions”.

These comments are significant in a couple of ways.

“It’s the same rumours as about the players”, Pochettino told a news conference.

Second, this is another indication that Poche trusts the system, and is willing to give promising young players a chance. Not too shabby for an 18-year-old. I believe that we already have enough quality, and it’s true that we lost people a few times, but that’s why we have a squad of 24 to 25 players. Kevin Wimmer, who made his Premiership debut as a sub for Vertonghen at Selhurst Park, is now expected to play in Saturday’s FA Cup clash away to League One side Colchester. Logically, Eric Dier can and probably will also drop back to central defense if needed, and discounting Federico Fazio entirely, Ben Davies can also deputize in a pinch.

Colchester progressed to the fourth round after they knocked off Charlton 2-1 at the Community Stadium, thanks to goals from George Moncur and Marvin Sordell.

The Spurs coach faced criticism after rotating his squad for the League Cup third-round defeat to Arsenal in September, but he is expected to continue his policy of fielding fringe players in the FA Cup for Saturday’s visit to Colchester in the fourth round.