Pochettino to grant players chance at making amends in Europa League

Mauricio Pochettino is eager to "change the feeling" at Tottenham Hotspur by changing nothing.

Speaking before Tottenham's trip to KAA Gent in the Europa League's Round of 32, Pochettino revealed his plans to stick with the players deployed in Spurs' 2-0 Premier League defeat at Liverpool, saying those who were involved in the loss are keen to make amends.

The first leg of Tottenham's tie against Gent will take place on Thursday, three days before Spurs visits Fulham in the FA Cup's fifth round.

"After what happened against Liverpool all the players want the chance to play again and try to change the feeling," Pochettino said, per the Guardian's Dominic Fifield. "We dropped our performance, our energy, our desire maybe ... we showed that lack of competitiveness as a team and that surprised us. So many we will make some changes but not too many.

"I'm happy to be involved in different competitions, the Europa League and the FA Cup. It's true, it's not easy, and we need to be fresh in our minds, to take better decisions for the team. You need all the squad involved and feeling important, but I like to compete. Some teams, like Chelsea or Liverpool, have three or four days' holidays now to try and prepare for a week-and-a-half for a Premier League game. But I prefer to be busy and try and win some titles. That, for me, is the best way to be."

Tottenham entered the Europa League after crashing out of the Champions League in the group stage, finishing third to AS Monaco and Bayer 04 Leverkusen in Group E.