Pochettino undaunted by England call for Spurs players
(Reuters) - Manager Mauricio Pochettino has played down concerns that having players called up to the England squad for friendlies against Germany and the Netherlands could impact Tottenham Hotspur's title challenge.
Spurs, who are chasing their first league title since 1961, are second in the table, five points behind leaders Leicester City with eight games to play.
A number of their players will be selected by England manager Roy Hodgson to face Germany in Berlin on March 26 and the Netherlands at Wembley three days later, but Pochettino dismissed fears that this could hurt their domestic campaign.
"Maybe we have a big group called up... seven, six, eight. We have trust in the national team," the Argentine told British media.
Alongside the league's joint-top scorer, Harry Kane, midfielder Dele Alli, and defenders Kyle Walker and Eric Dier are likely to be called up, while Danny Rose, Ryan Mason, Kieran Trippier and Tom Carroll are also in the frame.
"The staff in the national teams have the quality and capacity to look after the players," Pochettino added. "For me, when a player has an injury, it's an accident. It's not what you want but it happens. It's difficult to stop accidents."
(Reporting by Arnab Paul in Bengaluru)