Pochettino refuses to criticise ‘fantastic’ Tottenham star

Rob McCarthy

Mauricio Pochettino refused to criticise Tottenham new boy Serge Aurier despite the defender almost costing his side victory at West Ham on Saturday.

The Frenchman, who signed from PSG on transfer deadline day, picked up a needless second yellow for a challenge on Andy Carroll as Spurs led 3-1 at the London Stadium and looked to be cruising to victory.

The red card completely changed the game, however, and Spurs were left hanging on in the final minutes after Cheikhou Kouyate’s late header.

In truth, Aurier had a nightmare first Premier League start and was often caught out of position in what was an awful display from the Ivory Coast interntional.

Despite that, Pochettino was ready to defend his player: “His behaviour is fantastic on the team, since he arrived. The team-mates love him. He is a very good team-mate and he is very good friends with Kieran Trippier, who he competes with for the same position.

“I think, to be honest, he is doing very well. We are so happy with him.”