Family affair for Pochettino

QPR 1 Tottenham 2

Mauricio Pochettino walked over at the end of a 2-1 win that takes Spurs back into Champions League contention, to take a photo of three people among the Tottenham supporters.

It was his big brother, Javier, and the manager’s teenage sons, who chose to eschew the luxury of the director’s box to sit among Spurs supporters.

They were rewarded with another two goals from the remarkable Kane, who must surely get his first senior England call in on March 19th when Hodgson names his squad for England’s European Championship qualifier against Lithuania and their friendly in Italy.

The 21-year-old now has 16 goals, one behind the Premier League’s top scorers Diego Costa and Sergio Aguero, and nobody has eclipsed the Englishman’s 26 goals in total.

Not bad for a kid who was third in line behind Emmanuel Adebayor and Roberto Soldado for the first three third of the season.

And while Kane caught the eye of Hodgson and the Pochettino clan among the fans, Ryan Mason was not far behind in terms of performance and effectiveness.

The midfielder’s career has mirrored Kane’s, with previous seasons spent mostly on loan, before breaking into the Spurs side last autumn. His all-action displays have put him ahead of expensive signings Paulinho and Etienne Capoue and he is being tipped for the full England side, where fellow youth product Andros Townsend has also flourished.

All three youngsters are local lads who grew up supporting Tottenham and came through the club’s academy, which is why the fans love them more than the expensive foreign imports.

“He’s one of our own,” is the chant aimed most at Kane, but also at Mason and Townsend in recent weeks.

Pochettino appreciates that those three, more than any other players, have helped heal the disconnect between supporters and the club following a topsy-turvy period after the halcyon days of Harry Redknapp’s Champions League contenders.

“I think the connection between the supporters and the team is special now,” said the Argentine. “It was different at the beginning, but now it is fantastic. It is always good when the players show the sort of character they did today – it is not always the result that makes the supporters feel proud of their team.”

He knows this because his family are part of the Tottenham ‘family’ as their preference for the terraces illustrates. Pochettino’s sons are regular supporters, while his brother flew in from Argentina for last week’s Wembley Capital One Cup final defeat by Chelsea and will visit Old Trafford next weekend.

The brothers grew up on the family farm in Murphy, an Argentinian village named after Wexford man John Murphy who set aside land for local housing over a century ago.

“I took a picture because it was a fantastic moment for them and for me too,” Pochettino added. “This was the first time for me. My brother works on the farm at home in Murphy and is interested in what I do. He tells me what he thinks — he’s very honest, sometimes too much!

“Every game is shown in Argentina, so there are a lot of fans back home.”

This weekend they saw Kane head home Townsend’s free-kick before half-time, and then run on to Mason’s clever pass and take the ball round Rob Green to put Spurs 2-0 ahead, before former Tottenham midfielder Sandro gave QPR a glimmer of hope with a goal in the 75th minute.

But Spurs do not fold easily, and held out for another three points. Pochettino admits their mental strength has grown significantly this season.

“We have improved in his area, not only tactically and physically, but mentally the team has improved.”

He cites Mason, who has the build of a welterweight but the heart of a lion, as an example. “He has real character and is a big personality.”

Spurs are now only three points behind Manchester United, whom they face next weekend, after a week’s rest, following a gruelling run of five games in 17 days.

“We have played 47 games, more than anyone else, and we have 10 games to go. We have to work very hard to prepare for the next one, at Manchester United, and try to get three points.”

Chris Ramsey, meanwhile, needs points to stay in the top-flight. “Overall I am pleased with the way we have played, but a couple of big calls went against us and it is down to those fine margins.

“We are still in the fight, our next three games are against teams in the bottom half of the table, and we have to capitalise on their weaknesses. There is no point setting a points total for the season — we just need to think about getting three points next week.”

QPR (4-4-2): Green 7; Onuoha 6, Ferdinand 4, Caulker 5, Yun 6; Isla 5, Sandro 5, Henry 5, Phillips 5; Austin 7, Zamora 5.

Subs: Hoillet for Isla (70); Grego-Cox for Henry (88), Wright-Phillips for Sandro (90).

TOTTENHAM (4-2-3-1): Lloris 7; Walker 6, Dier 6, Vertonghen 6, Davies 6; Mason 8, Bentaleb 7; Townsend 7, Eriksen 7, Chadli 5; Kane 8.

Subs: Dembele for Townsend (64), Lamela for Chadli (79), Stambouli for Eriksen (90).

Referee: C Pawson.