Sports: Tottenham Hotspur star, Dele Alli, has blamed himself for Mauricio Pochettino’s dismissal.

Pochettino was sacked last Tuesday, after five years at the North London club and replaced by Jose Mourinho.

The Spurs players went to see Pochettino at his house after the news was announced. And Alli said he and the Argentine sat down and spoke as friends.

“I think it’s so clear what Mauricio meant to the players.

“He helped me grow a lot. I came here as an 18-year-old and had my ups and downs here. When I found out I was upset and I wanted to speak to him. I went to see him.

“I’ve seen him more than my family over the past five years. After I heard the news I couldn’t wait to see him. I was very upset.

“It wasn’t so much a conversation about football more two friends having a chat,” Alli said, according to the UK Mirror.

Pochettino was sacked with Tottenham outside the top four places, having picked up just 14 points in 12 matches.

“I would be lying if I didn’t blame myself when it first happened rather than looking at the bigger picture. We had a great journey. You can’t help but feel like you’re to blame because you’re out there but I realised I gave 110 per cent always.

“We’ve worked with Mauricio for so long. It’s new to a lot of us. The squad we had was a lot of young players coming in and it’s the first time we’ve had a change in manager.

“We know where we should be and the talent we have. It’s important that we show everyone. This season doesn’t show how good we are as a squad and that’s why we’re not worried.

“You want to impress but at the same time you just want to win games. We’ve always given everything to win,” Alli added.