Tottenham news: Danny Rose says Mauricio Pochettino saved his Spurs career and helped turn him into an England star
Left-back admits the backing of his boss helped revive his flagging career at White Hart Lane
DANNY ROSE has hailed Mauricio Pochettino for saving his Tottenham career and turning him into an England star.
Rose has been named in Sam Allardyce's England side for their first World Cup qualifier against Slovakia tomorrow after establishing himself as the country's first-choice left-back.
But when Pochettino arrived at White Hart Lane two years ago, the 26-year-old didn't even know if he had a future at the club as he struggled to fulfil the potential of his early career.
The full-back had been shipped out for a season long loan with Sunderland and was left uncertain of his value to Spurs until an early meeting with his new manager.
Rose said: “It’s no secret when the manager came in that I was uncertain about my position here and rightly so, because the season before I didn’t do as well as I could have done.
“The manager came in and spoke with me, I was one of the first people he spoke to.
“We talked about a lot of things for about an hour and one of the first things he said was if I entered into his philosophy, he would make me into an England player, so he’s been true to his word.
“A lot of hard work has gone in, a lot of patience from the manager as well.
"Not everything has been great, he’s had to put up with a lot of mistakes I’ve made but he’s always stuck by me.
“Whenever he’s had to tell me off or say I’ve not done something right, there has always been great advice at the end of it."
Rose will win his eighth senior England cap tomorrow, and was one of the few players to emerge from the disappointment of Euro 2016 with any credit.
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And he puts his elevation to a player able to produce consistently on the international stage squarely down to the work Pochettino and his backroom staff have done.
He added : “He’s been like a father figure to myself and a lot of the players here.
"I owe the manager and his staff a lot of praise and I hope I can continue like this during this season.
“Mauricio is a joy to work with and I’m thankful Tottenham have got him here, got him to sign a new contract and now I hope he’ll see out those five years and even more.
“I’ve learned a lot, the fans can see I’ve tried to improve and I give everything when I play. That is largely down to the manager and his staff.”