Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino has defended his decision to drop Harry Kane to the bench in the 1-1 draw with Fiorentina at White Hart Lane on Thursday evening.
Kane has been in superb form this season and is fully expected to be called up for Roy Hodgson’s England squad later this month.
However, he was a surprise omission from Pochettino’s starting eleven on Thursday night, despite scoring 23 goals in all competitions this season.
Roberto Soldado was installed as a lone striker and the Spaniard scored in the 1-1 draw and Pochettino has defended his decision to leave Kane on the bench at the start.
“We have a lot of games in 17 days, six games, and a potential 10 games in 30 days and we need to give the possibility for all players to play,” the Spurs boss told reporters.
“But it’s not a big problem to select the starting 11 for tonight or the next game or to try to pick the best player to try and win the game.”
Spurs travel to Italy for the second leg next Thursday for the second leg of their last 32 tie.