Bournemouth v Spurs - Mauricio's preview

Mauricio Pochettino expects the team to be wired in from the first whistle at Bournemouth on Saturday.

We travel to the Vitality Stadium in the early kick-off (12.30pm) knowing victory will secure a top four place and Champions League football next season.

The manager certainly doesn't want a repeat of the slow start that ultimately cost us a 1-0 loss against Ajax in the Champions League semi-final, first leg at home on Tuesday night. Mauricio referenced that on the night and again in the build-up to Bournemouth, another team built on a high-energy, pressing style of football.

Eddie Howe's men have struggled somewhat of late, however, hit by injuries and with two wins in their last 12 matches in the Premier League.

"We all feel disappointed in the first 20, 25 minutes against Ajax because we didn’t show the aggression or spirit that you recognise in our team," said Mauricio. "In the second half we played how we wanted to play from the beginning. We have to make sure that doesn’t happen again.

"Bournemouth have done a fantastic job. They are at home and they will want to win, of course. Every game in the Premier League is so competitive and we will have to make a massive effort to try to win.

"The most important thing is to do our job and think about ourselves. At our level, for sure we will be close to winning. If not, we’ll struggle."

As expected, Mauricio was asked how he was going to balance such defining games in the space of a few days – knowing victory at the Vitality would secure a top four spot but with the Champions League semi-final, second leg following quickly in Amsterdam on Wednesday night.

"We are going to pick the best players with the best energy to try to win this game," said Mauricio. "It’s not about names. We can win or lose, but it’s about the spirit of team.

"We need to be ready and try to win to finish in the top four at the end of the season. We need to be tough and need to work together to try to achieve that. We need to be there, ready to compete at our best from the start."