Mauricio Pochettino has suggested Vincent Janssen needs to offer more intensity in training to justify a recall to the Tottenham Hotspur first team, with the Holland international far from certain to start in Sunday’s FA Cup fifth-round tie at Fulham.
Spurs will offer fringe players their opportunity at Craven Cottage as they seek to freshen up a side involved in the Europa League and the pursuit of Chelsea at the top of the Premier League. Harry Kane is expected to sit out the game having suffered a kick to a knee in Thursday’s 1-0 loss to KAA Gent yet Janssen, a £17m signing from AZ Alkmaar last summer, may have to make do with a place on the bench having apparently failed to impress the management over recent weeks.
The forward has not started since the FA Cup third-round victory over Aston Villa in early January, his involvement since limited to 59 minutes in four cameos from the bench. His four goals for Spurs have been penalties, against Gillingham, Liverpool, Leicester City and Wycombe Wanderers, with Pochettino having suggested the 22-year-old has suffered a crisis of confidence since moving to England.
Janssen travelled to Belgium in midweek but was not included among the substitutes as Spurs slumped to defeat. Pochettino, asked whether the Dutchman would feature against Fulham, said: “Maybe, maybe. In Ghent he was out of the squad. He needs to show more, and then we’ll see. Maybe he will have the opportunity to be on the bench or play [from the start]. But, at the moment, we cannot be sure if he will be on the squad, on the bench or start from the beginning.
“Performance is always about how the players show their quality, their belief on the training ground. When you select the starting XI and the bench, I try to be fair. So it’s normal that, maybe, he needs to show more.” The Argentinian will be tempted to start instead with Son Heung-min, who played 22 minutes in Belgium, leading the line. Jan Vertonghen could return after an absence of more than a month, having recovered from ankle ligament damage.
Pochettino has previously praised Janssen’s application in training as the player seeks to make his move to England a success. Clubs on the continent continue to monitor his potential availability with a view to prospective bids in the summer – Spurs retain their interest in Southampton’s Jay Rodriguez – but the player, a regular in the Holland team, still aspires to prove himself at White Hart Lane.
Mousa Dembélé has suggested Tottenham were guilty of underestimating KAA Gent and hopes the first-leg loss “has opened our eyes” after recent slack form.
Spurs succumbed 1-0 at the Ghelamco Arena, with Jérémy Perbet scoring the only goal. Whereas Pochettino made a point of praising his players’ attitude and fight post-match, Dembélé’s assessment was rather more scathing as their hopes of making an immediate recovery from Saturday’s damaging loss at Liverpool in the Premier League were dashed.
“We knew it wouldn’t be an easy game but they were much sharper than us,” said Dembélé. “I think we underestimated Gent. Generally, I think they wanted it more than us.”