Mauricio on defence: 'We have genuine belief'

Mauricio Pochettino has underlined how belief and commitment led to us keeping back-to-back clean sheets this week, despite missing a number of central defenders through injury.

With Jan Vertonghen suffering from a thigh problem, fellow centre-halves Davinson Sanchez and Juan Foyth coming back from injuries and Eric Dier having his appendix removed, left-back Ben Davies deputised alongside Toby Alderweireld for the matches against Burnley and Arsenal, doing a sterling job in respective 1-0 and 2-0 wins.

With Juan making the bench in our Carabao Cup win at the Emirates and Davinson also back in the frame ahead of Sunday’s Premier League trip to Everton, Mauricio now has a wider range of options available in defence.

Assessing the state of play at centre-back heading into the game at Goodison Park, Mauricio said: “The most important thing is the belief. It’s difficult to translate to the fans or to the media the genuine belief in the squad. Of course, all the names and players are very important but after that it’s about the squad, about the collective, about the team.

“When some players are not available to play because they are injured or because they need to rest because they are tired… if you really believe how we believe in our squad, you can do a great job.

“Of course, we are so happy because always we believe that the most important thing is the squad and to use individual players that add the quality to the team. We are showing that with one or another name, the team can stay competitive and keep the same level. We can win or we can lose but the most important is the feeling – the feeling that we translate is fantastic.

“In the last two games, for me, Ben Davies, playing at centre-back, was one of the best players. But we knew that he could play there and can deliver a great job for us.

“I’m very pleased because we are very solid with the team and all the players are very committed and that is fantastic news. If we want to achieve in the end a trophy or arrive in the top four or do a fantastic job in the Champions League or the different cups, we need everyone to be committed to the team.”