Mauricio Pochettino has insisted that Toby Alderweireld and Victor Wanyama’s impressive performances for Tottenham Hotspur are not related to the duo coming from Southampton, whom he thinks have a completely different philosophy to Spurs.
Both Alderweireld and Wanyama have managed to make their mark for Tottenham, with the pair establishing themselves as key first team players at White Hart Lane.
While centre-back Alderweireld was snapped up by Spurs from Southampton in 2015, defensive midfielder Wanyama joined the north London club from the Saints last summer.
And Pochettino, who was himself at Southampton between 2013 and 2014 in a managerial capacity, believes Alderweireld and Wanyama doing well for Tottenham has nothing to do with them coming from the St. Mary’s Stadium outfit.
The Argentine manager went on to add that his present employers have a very different philosophy to Southampton, who are up against Spurs on Sunday.
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“No, I don’t believe that it’s easier to come from a club like Southampton”, Pochettino said in his pre-Southampton press conference on Friday.
“Sometimes it happens that you fit quickly into a team, into a group, into a squad and that was good for Toby and Victor because they felt at home from day one and they showed the quality to play football for Tottenham.
“I think it’s impossible to compare Southampton with Tottenham.
“It’s not worse or better, we are two different clubs, the philosophy is completely different and it’s not fair to say they fitted quickly for the team and they adapted their game because they came from Southampton because it was a similar philosophy.
“I think it’s not fair to say that.
"They are good for different reasons and today you feel that maybe Victor or Toby are here for a lot of time in the team.”
Tottenham thrashed Southampton 4-1 in the corresponding fixture at St. Mary’s Stadium in December.
