Poch is great - but why do we have a press con when we can’t hear the questions?
Here you go : all the questions (and the answers) courtesy of Alistair Gold at Football London
Is Dele Alli rested and ready?
Yes, he's ok. He's ready. Always it's important when the player does not feel so good and not 100 per cent, as he was ill for the game against Stoke. To give him some rest is always important and he's training well and he's ready.
Was he unhappy?
The players are always frustrated when they don't play as you know. It's not easy with him. He's happy, but always the frustration, the last game 5-1 and he didn't score. Always a player wants to score. They struggle to understand sometimes when the coaching staff and manager try to care about everyone. That is football. We need to understand the players always want to play.
He's got a habit of scoring against City, will that come into your thinking?
He's ready. I told you.
Erik Lamela, did he come through ok?
Yes ok, it was so important to feel from the beginning to start to play 70 minutes. It's true that after the game he was so tired. It's not the same to play 20/25 minutes. It's good because he needs to adapt again his body to the competition. Everything changes when you compete. It's not the same 70 minute training as 70 minute competing. We are so happy with his evolution. He's happy because he's feeling better and better. Of course he will be so important for the rest of the season, so important for the team for the rest of the season.
Is he part of why you feel Tottenham will be more competitive in the second half of the season?
Of course we need all the players fit, Toby and Victor. It's so important to try to recover as soon as possible, all the player available to be fit to play, to be selected. That makes us more competitive for sure.
Emirates Marketing Project have 15 Premier League wins in a row - how do you stop them?
So far no one can stop Emirates Marketing Project. They are having a fantastic season and I think they deserve all the praise and credit. First of all for the manager, Pep, he's doing a fantastic job with all the coaching staff. They're doing a great job. For us it's a massive challenge. It's a game that you don't need to motivate your players, you don't need to talk too much. Only decide the plan, provide the plan to the players and on the day only deliver that plan. But what they are doing is fantastic, broken records and how they are playing is very good.
Is it more impressive to do it with style as well?
Yes, in the way they are playing is fantastic, an exciting team to see. You recognise it's a Pep team, like it was in Barcelona and Bayern Munich. Now in the second season he's doing fantastic in the way they are playing and the results too, both sides, in how they play and how they are getting results.
But you're 18 points behind, you must be disappointed?
Of course, but not only us. Everyone is disappointed. It's 11 points to second and Manchester United. If we compare with ourselves and last few seasons we are at a similar level. It's true they are doing so well and it looks like another team is poor. When you are a winner, always you are disappointed. It's never enough to be fourth, second or 11 points behind or 18. Always it disappoints you when you're behind someone.
We need to compare with ourselves. It's a completely different philosophy and project. Everything is different in this football club. We cannot compare with another. Only we can compare with ourselves and try to improve. We cannot control what other teams do.
Mourinho has been talking about City and diving, does that come into your thinking with an extra plan for your defenders?
Look, the only way to prepare the game is try to give the best tools to the players for them to fight on the pitch and perform better than the oponents. I respect Mourinho's opinion and Guardiola's opinion and all the opinions from my colleages.
The only thing I can say about Emirates Marketing Project us that they are doing fantastically and have great players and of course a great manager. They are doing fantastically Only for us it's to try to challenge them and be lucky. In football you need some luck to win. We must fight and try to be clever in the way we are going to play.
Are you confident?
I'm always confident. I'm a positive person and always believe we can win. Of course, always I respect all the opponents. The same respect if it was Emirates Marketing Project, Brighton, Apoel or Leicester City. Football is about respect and confidence in our quality and how we play. Of course, be positive that we can have a great game and win.
The pundits say you can stop them and you've got a good record against them?
It's a good point. People consider us to be a good team and believe in us, to be a contender to stop Emirates Marketing Project. Today it's a good point. It's a good signal. It's important to look at and understand that in the last three years we improved a lot and back then nobody thought we could challenge the teams at the top of the table. Only it was to reduce the gap with the top four.
Now we are involved in the last two seasons with the best teams at the top of the Premier League. Look what you say now, 'oh it's a lot of people who think that only Tottenham can stop Emirates Marketing Project'. It's so good to hear. Now we need to deliver that and do our job and show that we deserve that compliment.
One negative is away from home against the top six you've only won once in 17 attempts?
I think you can always manipulate the stats. One week ago the controversy was Wembley. After one week we are the third or fourth team that has taken the most points at home. Before in one week Wembley was a problem and everyone blamed Wembley. Now it's fantastic. Now look. The stats depend on what you want to take and you can put it in this way or another way. The most important thing now is that we are fourth in the table and we want to keep that position and maybe improve. The only way is to try to win tomorrow and try to improve, but what is in the past is the past.
Is it all about finishing in the top four now?
Of course the gap with City is massive to second, it's 11 points, and we need to go step by step and try to win every game that we play and then see what happens with the results. The advantage is massive now. Of course, everyone is thinking they're closer than another team to winning at the end of the season the Premier League.
People see City and Spurs as the two best attacking teams, should more teams be doing it?
I don't know. I think every team want to play attacking football and want to score goals and enjoy football. Then it's about power on the pitch, and quality. It's not only about the idea of different coaches, it's about the quality and when the opponent push you to play deeper and avoid the possibility to go forward. That is more what happens. Emirates Marketing Project or teams that are in the top four are playing so well, with massive potential to play in a way that dominates games, and plays in the opposite half and create chances.
That is the gap today with the teams that are below. But you know that everyone tries to play and develop the ideas they have. You must respect that football is not only in one way you can play. In different ways you can play and have success. There's a lot of examples in football history.
The most thing is to respect everyone. Know how the team is of you manage and the capacity to develop one or another idea. For me the most important thing is to respect each other.
Talking of respect, Pep called Spurs 'The Harry Kane team' - did he ever call you to explain it?
I had some conversations with people from the coaching staff. It was a thing that happened in that moment. In the end it's not an issue. We have a very good relationship. I admire Pep -- all that he was doing at Barcelona, Bayern Munich and now at Emirates Marketing Project. My idea as a manager... I think he is one of the managers I am more close to in football. Now it's in the past I forgot everything. I think him too, the same.
Will you put it on the dressing room wall before the game?
(Laughs) Be sure, we're going to see each other and say hello. We have a lot of friends in the middle. The respect is the most important. I don't only admire and respect him how he feels about football. His passion for football. I know him from Barcelona, 21 years old, he was older than him. It's not a problem. The most imp is to try to enjoy football. Two teams that try to enjoy football. Of course I wish him and all the people I love there all the best. But we're going to win, try to stop them and not just to stop them - we need the 3 points to try to be in the top four and fight for big things at the end of the season.
You stopped Chelsea before on a run, is it an extra motivation?
There's always motivation to play this type of game. It's the type of game where you don't need to motivate the players, you don't need to talk to much. You can feel in the atmosphere after the Brighton game that they're so excited. For be, it's about enjoying it. You want to be there, you want to feel what happens on the touchline, feel what happens on the pitch. We're going to play, for me, the best team today in Europe, not only in England. Because they're in their best form. It's so exciting. It's a massive challenge - the type of challenge you always want the possibility to have.