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Tottenham news: Pochettino is handling Marcus Edwards perfectly

By Rucker Haringey

STEVENAGE, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 18: Marcus Edwards of Tottenham Hotspur makes a break past Aaron Lewis of Swansea City during the Premier League 2 match between Tottenham Hotspur and Swansea City at The Lamex Stadium on September 18, 2017 in Stevenage, England. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
STEVENAGE, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 18: Marcus Edwards of Tottenham Hotspur makes a break past Aaron Lewis of Swansea City during the Premier League 2 match between Tottenham Hotspur and Swansea City at The Lamex Stadium on September 18, 2017 in Stevenage, England. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images) /
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Marcus Edwards won’t play or Tottenham today

Scores of Tottenham fans on social media are desperate to see Marcus Edwards take the pitch for Spurs. Unfortunately, Mauricio Pochettino doesn’t feel he’s ready for that sort of responsibility. The truth is the Argentine boss is handling the starlet perfectly.

When asked about whether or not Edwards would feature against Barnsley, Pochettino quickly doused any hope that he’d make an appearance. According to the Spurs boss, his slight midfielder still needs to “build up his physical condition” and confidence before he’s ready to contribute to the first team.

On the surface, those seem like pretty innocuous comments. Edwards is still just 18-years-old. It only takes a quick look at his frame to see that his body isn’t well-suited to play against a physical Championship club. Barnsley would surely try to beat him out of the match with physicality.

However, looking a bit deeper at Pochettino’s words makes it obvious he’s trying to send a message to Edwards. Questioning his physical condition clearly intimates that Pochettino feels Edwards needs to work to add more muscle to his frame. His body is never going to remind anyone of Mousa Dembele, but he should be working to add valuable pounds to his body. If he can’t find a way to carry more weight effectively, he’s always going to run the risk of being bumped off the ball by average opponents.

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Pochettino’s decision to include Tashan Oakley-Boothe in the squad against Barnsley also sends a not-so-subtle message to Edwards. Oakley-Boothe is younger and certainly doesn’t have the same hype that Edwards exudes. Even so, he’s managed to jump ahead of Edwards in Pochettino’s midfield pecking order. Oakley-Boothe will almost certainly feature in today’s Cup match.

The good news for Edwards and his supporters is that it’s just September. Pochettino certainly hasn’t buried him for the entire season. He has, however, thrown the gauntlet down for Edwards to work harder as the season presses on. Pochettino has made it clear that Edwards isn’t doing enough to crack the first team at the moment. More effort will be required.

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That’s precisely the sort of attitude Pochettino needs to take with a much ballyhooed youngster. He knows that keeping Edwards’ ego in check is just as important as developing his football skills at the moment. The Spurs manager simply needs to stay the course to get the most out of Edwards’ significant potential.

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