Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino says he has no desire to swap the dugout for a TV studio following the criticism levelled at Dele Alli.

The Spurs midfielder, whose form over the last 18 months has crashed, found himself on the end of some stinging reviews from Sky Sports pundits Gary Neville, Graeme Souness and Roy Keane after his disappointing performance in the 2-1 loss at Liverpool.

“Half the player he used to be”, “thinks he’s a model” and “sat in an armchair” were just some of the opinions levelled at him by the trio, who went to town in their analysis.

Mauricio Pochettino, left, prefers management to punditry
Mauricio Pochettino, left, prefers management to punditry (Tess Derry/PA)

Pochettino has never had a problem with people getting paid to offer their opinion, but insists it is not something he would like to do.

“No, in my mind it is going to be difficult,” he said. “In football I respect all the opinions but (I couldn’t do it) because I respect too much the job of manager and players.

“And because when you are not in the place you have all the information and then when you give your opinion people in the club are laughing about your opinion.

“And if you go and talk in public in the end it is very dangerous. To be honest I don’t like too much. One day I may change my mind and say I go, but today no because the responsibility is massive.

“If you concede a goal you need to criticise the action because someone made a mistake.

“Sometimes the people are not happy because you put a finger on the action and in the moment you are going to criticise when someone missed an action like that. You create a bad feeling.”

The pundits were taking fire at Alli because his level has dropped so far from a couple of years ago, when his form made him one of the most exciting prospects in Europe.

He is still only 23 and Pochettino has no doubts that he will rediscover his best form and also the devilment that also made him one of the feistiest players around.

Dele Alli, left, was criticised for his performance at Liverpool
Dele Alli, left, was criticised for his performance at Liverpool (Peter Byrne/PA)

“Dele, we talk a lot about Dele,” the Argentinian said.

“Always I will support my player, and support my squad. When you don’t win, or at the level of this team, always we are observed and exposed to the opinions of different people.

“The most important thing is to pay attention to yourself and work hard. We know very well that Dele is going to be back.

“We spoke with him about improving different areas. But for sure the devil is going to appear again. I don’t know when. But for sure it will.”