Pochettino defends Adebayor captaincy

Mauricio Pochettino defended his decision to make Emmanuel Adebayor his Captain despite the striker being booed by some fans when he was substituted before Tottenham Hotspur established a 1-0 Capital Cup semi-final lead over Sheffield United.

The Spurs manager is keeping faith with the striker despite his most memorable contribution last night being a palm in the face of the Blades 17-year-old midfielder Louis Reed, for which he was shown a yellow card. He was replaced by Roberto Soldado after 64 minutes, before an Andros Townsend penalty gave them a first leg victory.

‘He was happy to get the armband,’ said Pochettino, ‘I see a lot of qualities in him which make him a good captain. I thought he put in a good performance.’

Pochettino named Adebayor as one of his three captains at the start of the season, alongside regular captain Hugo Lloris and Younes Kaboul. But the Togolese has played just 32 minutes of football since November and scored just twice in 13 appearances this season. 

But Pochettino thinks he just needs confidence to add to his tally. ‘For a striker it’s important always to score. But in the end, we need to give them the confidence that they can improve their performance and maybe have the opportunity to score. Sometimes with a striker when they score once, they score, score and score again.’

Nigel Clough, whose Sheffield United side have gained a reputation for giant killing in the Cups, warned Spurs to expect an intimidating atmosphere for the second leg at Bramall Lane on Wednesday January 28.