LONDON -- Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino says Louis van Gaal is "one of the great managers" and that the Manchester United boss is a "reference" for him ahead of their meeting on Sunday.
Former Ajax, Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss Van Gaal enjoyed a trophy-laden career before joining United in summer 2014, but his reputation has taken a battering at Old Trafford.
United crashed out of both the Champions League and Europa League this season and are struggling to finish in the Premier League top four ahead of Sunday's visit to White Hart Lane.
Pochettino, however, is full of admiration for his opposite number, telling a news conference: "I admire Louis van Gaal. He's a reference from me that I am a young coach. I was a player in Espanyol when he was at Barcelona. Always he has looked to develop young players. I think he's one of the great managers."
In contrast to Van Gaal, Pochettino is hot property and a report has suggested Tottenham want to tie the Argentine down to a new contract worth £5.5 million per season.
Pochettino preferred not to comment on the speculation, however, instead praising his players, specifically March's Premier League Player of the Month Harry Kane as well as Dele Alli, who is being widely tipped to succeed Kane as PFA Young Player of the Year.
"There are a lot of rumours and I never speak about rumours," Pochettino said. "More than me the players deserve it. They are the principal actors who score, stop goals and get the points. The whole club deserves to be in the spotlight but so far the season is good.
"I am very happy. I feel very proud of them. The squad is fantastic, the atmosphere in training every day. It's impossible for us to feel more happy than we are. To be honest, to have the squad that we have, it's fantastic to deal with them every day. Sometimes you have some players that are difficult, but it's life.
"I think all of the players understand that it's my decision to pick the starting XI. It's not a problem. We are very clear with the players. I am the boss and they have to accept my decisions in football.
"For us, our plan is always today and tomorrow and to try to improve. It's true that we are ambitious but our development as a team has been fantastic in the last few months. We have shown that we are a team that has quality and can win games.
"Harry has shown his quality in every game, whether he's scoring or not and is a very important player for us and England too. I'm very happy to Premier League recognised him as player of the month.
"I think Dele Alli deserves [to win PFA Young Player of the Year]. A lot of things have happened during the season. It would be a big achievement for him and the club. It would be fantastic."
Pochettino also had praise for Hugo Lloris and his opposite number on Sunday, David De Gea, while he backed Eric Dier to play his normal game against United, even though a 10th booking of the season on Sunday would result in a two-match ban for the midfielder.
"De Gea and Hugo are in the three, four, five best goalkeepers in the world today. For me both are great," the coach said.
"He [Dier] is a very clever player but in football you can get a yellow card. It's a big risk for him but we have a strong squad. In football you always need to play 100 percent and give your best without thinking too much."
Spurs are without Nabil Bentaleb, who underwent knee surgery this month, but Jan Vertonghen and Clinton Njie could return from knee injuries against United, while Erik Lamela is fit after missing the draw at Liverpool with a calf strain.
Vertonghen has been missing since the 3-1 win at Crystal Palace on Jan. 23, while Njie has not played since the 4-1 victory over Monaco on Dec. 10.
"Erik Lamela trained very well during the whole week and will be available for Sunday. Bentaleb is out. We need to assess Jan Vertonghen and Clinton N'jie -- they have trained very well and we need to assess tomorrow," Pochettino said.
Asked if Vertonghen would automatically replace Kevin Wimmer, who has deputised impressively at centre-half, Pochettino replied: "We will see what happens but Vertonghen is working very hard to be back as soon as possible.
"If he's available for Sunday, it's because he's 100 percent. Players who are injured often work more than the fit players."