TOTTENHAM and Mauricio Pochettino face a massive week of European and domestic football.
First up is a home match against Bayern Munich in the Champions League tonight, followed by a trip to Brighton in the Premier League.
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SPURS take on Bayern Munich tonight in a huge Champions League showdown.
Mauricio Pochettino's squad have not gelled this season and will be put under a stern examination by the Germans.
Former Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson told Sky Sports News that he, like many people, is convinced there is something up in the dressing room.
He said: “It seems like there’s a divide. I don’t know what it is, but at the moment, I worry for Tottenham.”
SON HEUNG-MIN has opened up on his tough start at Tottenham – and how Mauricio Pochettino persuaded him to stay.
The South Korea ace, 27, struggled when he first arrived in the Premier League as the most expensive Asian player ever.
But Pochettino was convinced Spurs had made the right choice in splashing out £22million for the former Bayer Leverkusen star.
Son told Goal: “The Premier League is different.
“I do not want to compare this with the Bundesliga, because the Bundesliga has great quality, but in the Premier League everything goes faster and is much more physical.
“At the beginning I played and also scored some goals. Unfortunately, I injured myself and it was difficult to find a connection to the team again.
“I did not get any more games and wanted to go back to Germany because I felt very comfortable there.
“But the coach has always encouraged me. He was the right coach for me in this situation.
“I said I’d like to leave the club, but he really wanted me to do well at Tottenham. He gave me new self-confidence.
“The talks went so well that at some point I pushed aside my thoughts of change.”
STAN COLLYMORE has slammed Dele Alli ahead of Spurs' Champions League clash against Bayern Munich.
The 23-year-old has struggled for form this season, with Mauricio Pochettino often benching the player.
Speaking of the England international, Collymore said: “There obviously are (issues that need addressing).
“Dele Alli needs to stop being a little kid, grow up and accept responsibility so he can go on to fulfil his promise.”
JAN VERTONGHEN admits he feels very aware of his age — and Spurs players tend to be more conscious of their birth certificates than most.
Age is not just a number at Tottenham, where chairman Daniel Levy hasn’t tended to dish out lengthy deals to those in the second half of their careers.
And that was one of the issues leading to such an unsettled summer at White Hart Lane, with even Mauricio Pochettino admitting to “different agendas” in the dressing room.
But as Bayern Munich rock up for a Champions League clash, the question is whether Spurs can ever hope to rule Europe if they don’t value their more experienced players.
Vertonghen is 32 and in the final year of his contract. Likewise, Toby Alderweireld, who is 30. And Danny Rose has two years to run at 29.
Christian Eriksen, 27, has turned down a long-term deal at Spurs in the vain hope of something more attractive elsewhere.
Lose those four long-servers and Spurs would be seriously lacking in top-level experience.
And you do not tend to win the Champions League without battle-hardened pros — the average age of winning teams being just shy of 28.
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