Football
Dan Kilpatrick, Tottenham Correspondent 8y

Toby Alderweireld: Spurs players must follow Pochettino's 'path'

Tottenham Hotspur defender Toby Alderweireld says players at the club have to be fully committed to boss Mauricio Pochettino's philosophy if they are to remain at White Hart Lane.

Tuesday's 3-0 win at Norwich saw Spurs leapfrog rivals Arsenal into third-place with a fourth away win in 13 days and they will aim to close the gap on Leicester City, Manchester City or both with another win against Watford on Saturday.

There is a strong sense of unity about Pochettino's young squad and the coach has ruthlessly disposed of those who are unwilling or unable to adhere to his philosophy. Andros Townsend and Federico Fazio departed in the winter transfer window after last summer's mass exodus, which saw the likes of Paulinho, Etienne Capoue, Roberto Soldado and Emmanuel Adebayor leave the club.

Alderweireld believes Spurs' success comes from a "togetherness" and absence of ego, which is born from Pochettino's ruthless culling of unwanted players.

"The most important thing is we have no heroes in this team," Alderweireld is quoted as saying by The Daily Mirror.

"When one makes a mistake, the other one picks it up. We have a togetherness. We want to achieve something this season and I think you can see that on the pitch. There is confidence and self belief -- not arrogance -- that we can beat everybody. We know that if we don't put the effort in, we are a normal team.

"He [Pochettino] only puts in guys who work very hard. A lot of guys have left the club. If you do not follow the path, you don't belong in Tottenham.

"Physically, we are 100 percent," Alderweireld said.

"We can run all game and that is the way we want to play. We have quality and young guys who are eager to make the difference."

Summer signing Alderweireld had formed an impressive partnership with fellow Belgian Jan Vertonghen at the heart of Spurs' defence, helping Pochettino's side to the best defensive record in the Premier League. But Vertonghen's knee ligament injury, suffered in the win at Crystal Palace, means Alderweireld is likely to be partnered by Kevin Wimmer, 23, for the next two months.

"He is not a child who has come to play," the former Ajax and Atletico Madrid star added.

"I did my job when Jan was playing and that has not changed with Kevin. Of course I try to help him, but he has played a lot of games in the Bundesliga."

Alderweireld also said he would not swap Harry Kane for any other striker in the world, after the England international's double at Norwich took his tally to 17 goals in 20 matches.

"I think now, at the moment, I don't want any other striker than H," Alderweireld told Ham & High. "We're very confident in him, he works very hard for the team as well and that's something we need. He's scoring goals and he keeps the ball for us. He's doing very well so I'm happy for him.

"I think H is very important to us. But every player's important because if somebody is not at the level that he has to be it's going to be difficult. I think H made the difference for us [at Norwich] because everybody worked very hard for him."

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