FootyChatter.com

Join The Club for quick access. Enter your email below and we'll send confirmation plus sign you up to our newsletter.

By submitting your information you agree to the

Terms & Conditions

and

Privacy Policy

and are aged 16 or over.

Your membership journey starts here.

Keep exploring and earning more as a member.

Football Quizzes Quick quizzes for

football fans. Football Crosswords Football-themed crossword challenges.

Explore your membership benefits.

Find the subscription that suits you

We’ve highlighted

the subscriptions our members get the most value from.

Kyle Walker lifts the lid on Mauricio Pochettino's training methods at Tottenham Hotspur. .. and why it was very different at Manchester City

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week. Become a Member in Seconds Unlock instant access to exclusive member features. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Want to add more newsletters? Five times a week Four Four Two Daily Fantastic football content straight to your inbox! From the latest transfer news, quizzes, videos, features and interviews with the biggest names in the game, plus lots more. Once a week . .. And it’s LIVE! Sign up to our FREE live football newsletter, tracking all of the biggest games available to watch on the device of your choice. Never miss a kick-off! Join the club Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards. Kyle Walker is one of the fastest players in Premier League history - but even he couldn't keep up with Mauricio Pochettino's brutal running test at Tottenham Hotspur. Full-back Walker played under the Argentinian manager between 2014 and 2017, a period in which Tottenham reached the League Cup final in 2015 and finished second in the Premier League the following year. The former England defender joined Manchester City for £45 million in summer 2017, but found Pep Guardiola's approach to training very different to that of Pochettino.

Walker joined Spurs in 2009 and witnessed several players break through during his eight years in North London, most notably Harry Kane and Dele Alli. The latter signed from MK Dons in 2015 and made his Premier League debut aged just 19, before going on to enjoy an outstanding maiden campaign in the top flight.

Alli also impressed behind the scenes, with Walker revealing that the youngster was the only player capable of standing up to Pochettino's notorious training drills. He told The Overlap, brought to you by Sky Bet: “We had the famous thing called the Gacon [running test] – whoever played for Tottenham will know the Gacon. The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week. “It starts at 145m and you have 45-seconds to get there, you then walk up 5m [to another cone] and have to run back. It’s a continuous thing and there were 16 or 17 cones. “The only person that I’ve ever seen complete it was Dele Alli – he was an animal at running. ” Despite Pochettino's rigorous training methods, Walker failed to win a trophy at Spurs - but he enjoyed a glittering eight seasons at City, lifting 13 major honours including the Treble in 2022/23.

But the 96-cap former England star, who retired from international football last week, revealed the differences between Spurs and City made him question his decision. Walker said: “I remember getting off in the pre-season [at Manchester City] and you’ve got Kun [Sergio] Aguero who’s just balling around training – bad trainer, bad trainer but he turned it on in the game. “I got back to my hotel room after and speaking to my dad saying, ‘I think I’ve made a mistake here. ’ I went from a Pochettino team of running hard and we’re going to run all over you, dominating that area and also with a little bit of quality from certain players we’re going to win the game, to looking now and thinking we’re doing hardly any running in pre-season because Pep doesn’t like running – we did a little bit but it was mainly with the ball. ” James Roberts is a freelance sports journalist working for Four Four Two. He has spent the past three years as a sports sub-editor for various national newspapers and started his career at the Oxford Mail, where he covered Oxford United home and away. You must confirm your public display name before commenting Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.

Four Four Two is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

©

Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury,

Bath

BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait. ..