KIERAN TRIPPIER has revealed Mauricio Pochettino chucked him in Tottenham’s ‘fat club’ during pre-season in 2015 after his summer holiday to Cancun.
The England international is now on the verge of helping Newcastle secure Champions League football for next season.
The Magpies sit third with four games left to play and hold a three point lead over fifth placed Liverpool who have played a game more.
But while Trippier is now a player comfortable on the Champions League stage, when the 32-year-old joined Spurs in the summer of 2015 following a three year spell with Burnley he fell short of his new manager’s expectations.
Speaking on the High Performance Podcast the right back revealed how Pochettino was unhappy with his condition.
He said: “I went on holiday in Cancun, thought I came back in good nick, and next minute I’m in the fat club. I was in the altitude chamber.
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“There were a couple of us. I thought my weight was good but no I was straight in the chamber after every session. And that’s when I knew, this is different.”
The right back revealed that after seeing the likes of Harry Kane, Hugo Lloris and Jan Vertonghen training he knew why he was placed in ‘fat club.’
He said: “It was a shock. When I came into training, (the senior players) had already finished in the gym. Certainly Harry. What they were eating (was different to me).”
Trippier explained that the fitness demands at Spurs were different to any of his other clubs.
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He said: “I was well high [in body fat], I think they pinch you tougher at Tottenham, unless it was my all-inclusive holiday in Mexico and the mojitos!
“It turns out I wasn’t in the best shape when I came to Tottenham and the manager let me know that. He told me that and within six months of getting there I was in great condition.”
After four years in North London, which included reaching a Champions League final, he left to play under Diego Simeone at Atletico Madrid.
During his spell in Madrid Trippier won the only trophy of his senior career to date as he helped Atletico Madrid lift the 2020/2021 LaLiga title.
In a move which left fans stunned he joined relegation threatened Newcastle in January last year.
PAY CUT
Fans accused him of joining for the money following Newcastle’s Saudi backed takeover.
However, Trippier revealed he actually took a pay cut to join the St James Park outfit.
He said: ” Coming to Newcastle was the perfect decision for me and there were loads of comments when I first signed here – ‘he came here for money or whatever’ but what people don’t actually realise is, I came here on less money than what I was on in Madrid.”
The Burnley fan explained there were reasons why he had to return to England.
He said: “I could have signed a new three-year contract at Madrid but I didn’t. There were reasons why I had to come back, family, and that’s the truth.
“I had to come back to England for my family, for my children, I was going through a difficult moment with other stuff in my personal life as well.
“I couldn’t just go ‘I’m going to sign for Man City’. You’ve got to go to a club that wants you, and there weren’t many in the Premier League and I wanted to come back up north.
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“I had good chats with the manager (Eddie Howe) and I thought, you know what, why not.?
“I knew they were 19th in the league and I knew I could have been playing in the Championship. But I have no regrets. I had no relegation clause. I took less money. I knew it was a gamble. But again, I have no regrets.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
