Pochettino accepts Danny Rose’s apology, says he has a future at Tottenham

Mauricio Pochettino held his first Tottenham Hotspur pre-match press conference of the 2017-18 Premier League season, and as expected, a lot of questions centered around Danny Rose. Spurs’ manager said that he accepted Danny Rose’s apology, is not looking to sell the player, and is ready to “move on.”

“He apologised to the club, chairman, manager, teammate and fans. It’s so important and it was good. Sometimes I was a player and sometimes after seven months when you don’t play you’re frustrated.

"For me it’s not a big issue, it’s time to move on. It’s good for him to say that. Now we start the season at Newcastle. A new season, a new year. It’s time to move on.”

Spurs officials were reported to be absolutely livid with the way that Rose expressed his frustrations with Tottenham’s transfer window, but privately many players issued support for Rose’s comments, which he gave in an interview with British tabloid The Sun on Thursday.

Pochettino appeared gracious and conciliatory despite what was obviously a tense moment between the club and the player he helped develop into a starting fullback for England. He said most of the controversy was outside of the club as speculation ran rampant that Rose was trying to engineer a transfer to Chelsea or Manchester United.

“No, no, no. It was more outside of the club. The players were very calm and we were calm. Sometimes you understand frustration from the players.

"It was his opinion but he understood that he maybe needed to apologise to us. It was very good for him and club. I forgive him and for me we move on. He needs to be focused on being fit as soon as possible and to help the team.

"Football is about communicating on the pitch. He signed last summer a five-year contract. It’s not a problem for myself. He is our player and he needs to be focused on trying to be fit as soon as possible.

"It’s important he’s working hard to fix his problems. For me, it’s important for him to be focused on his recovery. We are helping him with all the tools to be ready again.

“Of course [he has a future at Spurs]. Nothing changes with my vision or perception of him. The moment he apologised everyone moved on. It’s in the past now.”

Rose was reportedly fined two weeks wages for the way he handled the interview. He is still recovering from knee surgery and is not expected to return to Spurs’ lineup until early September. Ben Davies will start the match against Newcastle.