LONDON -- Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino has insisted that Toby Alderweireld's fall from favour is neither personal nor related to his contract impasse with the club.
Alderweireld was left out of the 18 for last weekend's historic win at Chelsea despite playing for Belgium mid-week and he is not expected to return to the squad for Saturday's game at Stoke.
The centre-half has not featured in the league since October after missing three months with a hamstring tear. While he was injured, contract talks with the club broke down due to the 29-year-old's demands for a long-term deal worth in excess of £160,000-a-week.
Although the club refuses to give Alderweireld a substantial pay-rise, it emerged this week that Daniel Levy, the club's chairman, earned £6 million last season -- a 53 percent increase on the previous year. Pochettino defended Levy's earnings but admitted Spurs must "push the big cake" to the players.
"I don't care about the [players'] personal situations with the club," Pochettino said. "If they show me they deserve to play, they are going to play. It is not about personal feelings or emotions. It is about providing the team with the best tools to win.
"I cannot consider if they have a one-year contract, six months or 10 years... When [Moussa] Sissoko arrived and he was a record signing, if he was not the best, he did not play. When Dele Alli arrived with Sonny [Son Heung-Min] for the £22m we paid Bayer Leverkusen, who played? Dele Alli. The whole season.
"My decision is always about football. It is not personal and not because of a contract problem. I don't care about that. Always my decision is about what is best for the team and the best for the club."
Pochettino continued: "I am so sorry because Toby was an important player for us in the last two seasons. Then he got the injury and players like Davinson [Sanchez] and [Jan] Vertonghen stepped up -- and you have got to deserve to play.
"If we are happy with the players who are playing, you need to wait. That does not mean he is not going to play again. But now he needs to keep pushing and try to show me he can play better than the others."
Belgium coach Roberto Martinez has warned Alderweireld that he could lose his starting spot at this summer's World Cup if he does not return to favour at Spurs.
But Pochettino said: "If my decisions are about helping players play in the World Cup, my decision would be wrong for the team -- for Tottenham.
"I feel sorry I cannot provide everyone with everything that they want. There are 24 players who have different targets in their mind and sometimes they feel I am not fair in my decision. But, tell me, can one manager be fair with 24 players in one season?"
Pochettino admitted that Alderwiereld is now fit but suggested he was still not in his "best shape" and said his situation is no different to that of Sissoko, Victor Wanyama, Lucas Moura and Michel Vorm, who have similarly struggled for minutes this year.
"I am happy with Davinson [Sanchez] and Jan [Vertonghen]. Toby needs to wait, like different players, for their opportunity to play," Pochettino said.
"The most important thing is no personal problems, it is always about performance: who is the best out there," he added, pointing to Spurs' training pitches. "But in the end I understand that it is a big business -- rumours -- that try to create confusion."
The club's hardball stance on Alderweireld's demands appears incongruous with Levy's earnings for the 2016-17 season, which increased by £3.2m after bonuses and a review by the club's renumeration committee.
Levy's earnings for last season were higher than all the players' basic annual salaries and reports this week suggested some of the squad are unhappy with the chairman's lot.
Pochettino insisted that is not the case, while appearing to suggest that the players should be the best paid individuals at the club.
"It [Levy's earnings] is not a problem for the players or for us," Pochettino said. "I think it's deserved because he is working so hard for the club. He's doing a fantastic job for 16, 17 years. My genuine feeling is he deserves it.
"The advantage with him is that he puts up a mirror and negotiates with the mirror!" joked Pochettino, before adding: "In this business, the principle actors are the players. We have to push the big cake onto the players. After that, there is the staff, there's the manager and the coaching staff.
"If an agent from one transaction can earn a lot of money to be in the middle between two clubs, it's normal that people like our chairman [get paid a lot of money] because they are delivering a great job for this company.
"I don't know why people get so excited by this situation as for me it's a normal situation. It's very good news for the company and for the club. Look at the facilities of the new stadium!
"I think Daniel is doing a fantastic job. It does not surprise me what he earns, if that is true. We are more than happy if is true. The toughest thing is to negotiate with yourself."