Colchester v Tottenham Team News

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino could give some youth players a chance to shine when they visit Colchester on Tuesday night. Spurs head to the League Two outfit for the Carabao Cup third-round clash, in the midst of a gruelling run of seven games in 21 days, and on the back of a disappointing defeat against Leicester City at the weekend.

As a result Pochettino could hand an opportunity to some younger players, with the likes of Troy Parrott, Oliver Skipp and Japhet Tanganga in the frame, with some senior stars set to get a much-needed break.

Pochettino thinks it is the perfect time to test out some of his youngsters without devaluing the competition. “All the competitions we take seriously. For different reasons we need games,” Pochettino said.

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“The young players need games to improve and try to show their quality and maybe fight for a place in the starting XI in the Champions League or Premier League. “We are going to have a mix, we will assess the squad because we are going to have a very tough period and we need to manage the squad. We are going to be there trying to win the game.”

Spurs fans are particularly excited to see Parrott get his first-team chance after he impressed during the club’s pre-season tour to Asia.

Big things are expected of the 17-year-old, who has scored picture book goals for the club’s Under-23s side, as well as the Republic of Ireland Under-21s.

Asked whether he will be involved, Pochettino replied: “Maybe, of course, he was at Leicester, but he wasn’t in 18 players. We will see.”

Spurs are also in need of a much-need boost following the defeat against the Foxes, and Pochettino was a bit prickly when quizzed about just how seriously they are taking the game. “We are going to take seriously, we need to avoid this type of question because it’s a question that (suggests) we don’t take seriously,” he said.