Tottenham head coach Mauricio Pochettino pays tribute to Louis van Gaal
Mauricio Pochettino has hailed under-pressure Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal as one of the best managers in the history of the game.
Tottenham host United on Sunday with the club's traditional targets reversed, as Spurs look to keep their title hopes alive while the Red Devils chase a place in the top four.
Van Gaal's future at Old Trafford has been under intense scrutiny all season, with underwhelming performances and inconsistent results leaving some supporters dissatisfied with the Dutchman.
Jose Mourinho and even Pochettino have been mentioned in connection with taking over the United post but Tottenham's head coach insists Van Gaal is to be admired.
"I need to show respect because when I was a player he was a manager at Ajax and Barcelona and his background is amazing and was one of the references as a young coach," Pochettino said.
"You always see Van Gaal when you were a player and how he was, always helping the younger players, I think he is one of the best in the history of managers."
Pochettino is now stamping his own mark at White Hart Lane as Tottenham look to beat United this weekend and close a seven-point gap on league leaders Leicester.
Spurs will be favourites to win the match, a far-cry from the days when Sir Alex Ferguson needed only to say 'Lads, it's Tottenham' in his pre-match team talk.
"As manager and staff we try to translate our personality and character," Pochettino said.
"It's true you always show how we are - we are tough, we press high, we work hard on the pitch and in training. But we are a team who play very good football.
"Against Liverpool we tried to build from the back, take risks. This is how we are. This is our character.
"We are brave and this is how the team take risks to play along the grass, to be aggressive, to take the ball as soon as possible and dominate the game.
"It's not always possible because you always have the opponent who has good players too and tries sometimes to do the same. But this is our personality."
Ander Herrera knows Manchester United can ill afford to slip up at White Hart Lane.
United's win at Manchester City before the international break was followed by a narrow victory over Everton, giving Herrera and his team-mates confidence.
"I think it is an important moment of the season because we don't have many games left," the Spanish midfielder said.
"It's good that we are in good form and we have to keep winning our games.
"It'll be a great game. They are very strong and fighting for the title.
"Every player wants to play in this type of game and we will go to White Hart Lane to win."
Recent history suggests Herrera has every reason to be confident, with United unbeaten in their last 14 league trips to White Hart Lane.
Pochettino's side are a much better Spurs outfit than the Reds Devils have faced in recent years, but Van Gaal's men have impressed against the better sides this term.
United have lost only one of seven matches played against fellow top-six clubs this term - a run they will look to improve in north London.
"I think we perform better against top teams and always give our best, and Spurs is one of those top teams," Herrera told MUTV.
"I think Spurs and Leicester are the only teams that have been consistent.
"I watched Spurs' game at Liverpool, they controlled pretty much all of the game and played very well in the second half and could have won.
"They are still fighting for the title and we have to respect them because they have very good players.
"I think we have seen some surprises in the Premier League, this season and Dele Alli is one of them. Also I didn't expect (Eric) Dier to play as well as he has done in midfield.
"Alli is a player who doesn't need to touch the ball all the time. He waits for his moment and he has good timing into the box.
"He scores goals and assists often. The best way to defend against good players is by getting the ball.
"We have the capacity to do that, we have shown that against very good teams - we can beat them with the ball. That's the best way to do it.
"We have been the better team against Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea so we have to believe."
Source: PAR
