Spurs Media Officer In Awkward Clash With Reporter Over Questions To Mauricio Pochettino About Manchester United Job

Mauricio Pochettino was prevented from answering questions about links with Manchester United in an awkward exchange between the Spurs press officer Simon Felstein and a Sky Sports News reporter.

The Tottenham manager has been linked with a move to Old Trafford in the summer as a permanent replacement for Jose Mourinho who was sacked on Tuesday.

Speculation will inevitably rumble on for months about who will become the next full-time Manchester United boss but the Tottenham Hotspur media officer stated categorically that Pochettino wouldn't be answering questions on the topic.

As the exchange continued, the Spurs boss, who was hoping to talk about an excellent 2-0 win over Arsenal last night, sat in the middle, sipping his water and looking embarrassed by the whole thing. He didn't refuse to answer a question, he merely allowed the discussion to go on.

Felstein asked for the cameras to be turned off to underline his point before the press conference resumed. Rather than talk about the ongoing rumours, Pochettino paid tribute to Dele Alli for his reaction after having a bottle thrown at him by an Arsenal fan in last night's Carabao Cup quarter-final victory at the Emirates.

Arsenal say they have identified the culprit and Pochettino said: “It was an amazing reaction. In another country, the player would be down on the pitch, creating a big problem. Dele was so honest and professional. His behaviour was top.

“The Arsenal people, the club, should be grateful to him. In a different situation, the player can go down and create a massive problem which is difficult to handle for the referee, the people and the club. Sometimes people criticise some of his actions during the game, but today it's good to praise him.

“Of course, he’s more mature but still a kid, he's so young. He's so clever. It's normal, it's a process – like us. We're all growing and learning. It's a situation that I hate, this type of action. I know Arsenal will take responsibility and fix that problem, but we need to praise Dele. His behaviour was fantastic.”