"It's literally one of the best team talks I have been involved in since I have been playing football"
Monday 4 March 2019 08:40, UK
Danny Rose has described a stirring half-time team talk from Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino against Arsenal as "like he was really sending us to war".
Tottenham retained a four-point advantage over their north London rivals in the battle for Champions League qualification after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang missed a last-minute penalty to seal all three penalties at Wembley on Saturday.
Pochettino's side had suffered back-to-back league defeats against Burnley and Chelsea to all but end their hopes for the league title and went behind at Wembley through Aaron Ramsey's first-half goal but Rose has praised his manager's rallying words.
That was one of the best things I have witnessed in football, his half-time team talk, and we kept going and that was the attitude he wanted to see in the second half.
"The manager said some things at half-time and that was the turning point because he is usually really calm and collected," Rose said.
"He normally talks to us at half-time and this time it was like he was really sending us to war.
"That was one of the best things I have witnessed in football, his half-time team talk, and we kept going and that was the attitude he wanted to see in the second half."
Pochettino was seen walking down the tunnel towards the dressing room before the end of the first half as Spurs faced a third defeat in as many matches.
Rose, who impressed in an unfamiliar central midfield role after the break, revealed the Argentine delivered a "passionate" speech and the England international admitted he had never seen anything like it.
"He normally talks, he's really calm as you have all seen. But this time he was really passionate," Rose added.
"I felt as if I was literally going into war after the team talk that he gave. It's literally one of the best team talks I have been involved in since I have been playing football.
"We are not used to losing two games in a row. Something needs to change somewhere. Whether we need a rocket up our backsides, I think he just tried a different approach. But I liked what he did at half-time, it really got me firing.
"As usual, it made me want to fight for him, fight for my team-mates and fight for my club. Some people can either take to that or go the other way and I love seeing things like that."
