Louis van Gaal has hailed the achievements of Mauricio Pochettino as Manchester United prepare to visit Barclays Premier League title-challengers Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
Spurs go into the match at White Hart Lane this weekend as genuine contenders for English football's biggest prize. United, meanwhile, are in race for the top four- they are fifth, one point behind local rivals Manchester City with seven matches of the league season remaining.
"I think that they have a very good squad and I have said this also last year," Van Gaal said. "He has made a team of this squad, a team that presses high with a good positional game and they score a lot of goals.
"They also have a lot of clean sheets though, which show they are a well-organised and structured team. I think you can give credit to Mauricio Pochettino."
Pochettino has not only won admirers for his team's style of play and sustained assault on the championship but also for bringing through a core of home-grown talent, headlined by Harry Kane and Dele Alli, along with Eric Dier, Danny Rose and Ryan Mason.
Speaking at his pre-match media conference on Friday, Pochettino agreed with suggestions the clutch of domestic talent could aspire to match the achievements of United's 'Class of 92', a crop including David Beckham, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville which fired the Red Devils to more than a decade of dominance under Sir Alex Ferguson.
"Yes, why not?" he said. "This is something we decided on. We need to give them time to work hard so they can improve. But I think we have showed so far [the] quality in the team."
The match will come too soon for Wayne Rooney to be involved as the United captain continues his recovery from a knee injury with the club's Under-21s. Ashley Young and Phil Jones, while lacking sharpness, are back in selection contention.
Nabil Bentaleb (knee) is Tottenham's only confirmed absentee, with Clinton N'Jie and Jan Vertonghen (both knee) doubtful to return.
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