When you are involved in lots of big games in a short period, as Tottenham are, two things are important.
To start with, you need a good group. No moaners, nobody who mopes when he is not playing.
When we won the three cup competitions with Liverpool in 2001, that aspect was vital to our success.
Gerard Houllier, our manager, was very good at keeping everyone involved.
If he left you out of a big game, he would usually let you know that you’d be playing in the next one. He might say: “I’m going to give you a rest against Roma but get ready for the following game against Manchester United.”
That’s a key to keeping the squad happy.
Mauricio Pochettino looks like he has a squad of good professionals and there don’t seem to be too many problems with players who will complain if they are left out. So that isn’t his biggest issue.
Where Spurs might run into problems is with rotation.
When you have so many important matches, you’ll have to change more players.
That makes it harder for players to develop relationships on the pitch and it can look a bit disjointed at times.
Luckily for Spurs, they have a solid way of playing that most of their players understand.
But make no mistake: this is a period that will test them.
