Dele Alli saddened by Mauricio Pochettino’s dismissal

An emotional Dele Alli spoke about his heartache at Mauricio Pochettinos sacking as Tottenham boss.Pochettino was fired last week after a poor start to the season and replaced by Jose Mourinho less than 12 hours later.Alli was a key ally of Pochettino, having been brought to the club from MK Dons as an 18-year-old by the Argentinian, and was one of several players who went to visit their former coach.I cant thank this man enough. Hes taught me so much and Im so grateful for everything hes done for me. Good luck and hope to see you again my friend. pic.twitter.com/dUO6AJlMxR Dele (@dele_official) November 19, 2019Its clear to everyone how much Poch meant to the players, he said ahead of Tottenhams Champions League clash with Olympiacos. Being here for nearly five years he has seen me grow as a person and helped me a lot.I came here as an 18-year-old, new to it all and Ive been through a lot of ups and downs here but hes helped me through it all. I cant thank him enough.I felt it was important as soon as I saw the news. I was very upset but I tried to get in contact with him and the next day I went to see him.It was just a conversation between two friends. He has helped me through a lot Ive seen him more than I see my own family in the last five years, so it was very tough. But this is football and things change all the time so we know what we have to do. We have a job to do, we have to move forward.But for sure he is someone Im going to stay in contact with.It will be different because hes not the manager but hes an amazing person and helped me so much throughout my career not just in football but in life as well.When it first happened you just blame yourself, you are sad and dont look at the big picture.Jose Mourinho replaced Pochettino less than 12 hours after his dismissal (Tess Derry/PA)It did not take Mourinho long to make his mark on Alli after the Portuguese made a training ground joke about the midfielder playing like his brother.Alli, who produced his best performance in recent months in Saturdays 3-2 win over West Ham, revealed that ribbing was the first thing Mourinho had said to him.He accepted that Mourinhos comment was essentially a criticism of his form, but was happy to take it on the chin.Dele Alli produced one of his best performances of the season at West Ham (John Walton/PA)I suppose (it was a criticism) but a lot of people have been saying that so it was nothing new, he added.In that sense. To have it honestly said to your face was nice because a lot of people would prefer to say it behind your back.That was a barbed comment in relation to some strong criticism aimed at Alli over his drop in form over the last 12 months. The 23-year-old, who has been left out of the last three England squads, admits he has ran out of excuses for his poor displays last season, but is not paying too much attention to the critics.It didnt shock me, playing in the Premier League you expect it when you are not performing to be criticised.For me I have been a professional for a few years now, I am still young and I have a lot to learn and improve.Alli, left, has been not been named in the last three England squads (Tim Goode/PA)I am an experienced player but it is just important you listen to the right people.I am my own biggest critic. I know what I need to work on. Some peoples opinions are for the right reasons and some are just to jump on the bandwagon.I know where I am in my career and I know where I want to improve.(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i['GoogleAnalyticsObject']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){
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