Pochettino questions Tottenham motivation after FA Cup escape

Spot the odd one out: Manchester United, Liverpool, Newport County, Arsenal, Juventus.

Newport County manager Mike Flynn was left frustrated after their 1-1 draw with FA Cup opponents Tottenham.

The raucous home fans finished the match, which had the feel of a proper cup tie, by chanting: “Wem-ber-ley, Wem-ber-ley!”

“In this type of game if you don’t fight first of all and you are not motivated to play well, it’s so easy to struggle”.

The home side played smartly, using long balls to turn the defence around and the long throw-in very effectively.

MF Victor Wanyama, 4 – The Kenyan was supposed to be a powerful weapon in the midfield battle but he was outmuscled at times and lost the ball far too often.

Newport, a massive 72 places behind a Spurs side who are fifth in the Premier League, sparked delirious scenes at Rodney Parade when Amond gave them a 38th-minute lead.

The showing against Newport might have encouraged Pochettino to add some depth to his attacking options, with Spurs lacking creativity in the absence of Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen and Son Heung-Min.

And Spurs levelled from the corner as it came across and was flicked on for Kane to tap in from close range and dash Newport’s hopes of holding on for a famous victory.

But Newport held firm after Amond’s header and restricted the Premier League side to only a handful of opportunities.

Toby Alderweireld and Danny Rose are both doubts along with goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, Christian Eriksen and Serge Aurier.

Perhaps it was a sign of things to come for Mauricio Pochettino’s men, who may have been better served starting Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd up front rather than Harry Kane and Fernando Llorente.

However, Kane was on hand to spare Tottenham’s blushes with an 82nd-minute equaliser, the striker’s 12th goal in just his last seven matches.

Sources have told ESPN FC that talks are ongoing over a move for Paris Saint-Germain winger Lucas Moura.

“There are a lot of rumours about different players”, Pochettino added.

Whether anybody had the energy for much more was moot but things nearly got even better when Amond wriggled away again by the right bye-line for an angled drive that was deflected wide. When Spurs had the ball, they were never allowed to settle and County were good for their lead.