Wednesday 27 November 2019 07:26, UK
Dele Alli admits he was "very upset" by Mauricio Pochettino's sacking from Tottenham and initially felt to blame.
The England forward says he was another of the Spurs players that went to see Pochettino at his house, after the Argentinian was replaced by Jose Mourinho within 12 dramatic hours in North London, while most of the squad was on international duty.
Alli was one of Pochettino's first signings, joining from MK Dons in 2015, and the now 23-year-old admits he has a lot to thank Pochettino for during their five years together.
"When it first happened, you just blame yourself, when you're sad and you don't really look at the big picture," said Alli, ahead of Tuesday's Champions League match against Olympiakos.
"We've had some amazing journeys together, we grew together - all the coaching staff that were here and the players, we all grew. We achieved a lot in terms of where we came from. We're all very thankful to him.
"You can't help but feel a bit to blame because we were out there, but when I look back I gave 110 per cent and so did all the players.
"Sometimes it just doesn't work out. The chairman made a decision and, like I say, we owe [Pochettino] a lot of thanks."
Harry Kane and Eric Dier both went to see Pochettino at his house after he was sacked and Alli has confirmed he also visited the Argentine the day after his departure from Tottenham.
"It's clear to everyone how much Poch meant to the players," added Alli. "I've been here for nearly five years now, he's seen me grow a lot as a person and he's helped me a lot.
"I came here as an 18-year-old, new to it all, and I've been through a lot of ups and downs here and he's helped me through of all of them, so I can't thank him enough.
"I think it was important. Straight away, as soon as I found out the news, obviously I was very upset but I tried to get in contact with him and the next day I went to see him."
When asked what he said to Pochettino, Alli added: "It was just a conversation between two friends. Like I said, he's helped through me a lot. I've seen him more than my own family in the last five years.
"It was very tough for me but this is football but things change all the time. We know what we have to do, we have a job to do, we have to keep moving forward.
"But, for sure, he's definitely someone I'm going to stay in contact with.
"It will be different because now he's not the manager but at the same time he's an amazing person and he's helped me a lot throughout my career, not just in football but in life as well."
