Tottenham Boss Mauricio Pochettino Faces Difficult January Decisions and Frustrated Players

Two members of the Tottenham Hotspur dressing room have come forward to air their frustration with life under Mauricio Pochettino at White Hart Lane.

Defender Vlad Chiriches and midfielder Paulinho arrived at White Hart Lane as part of a deluge of new signings by the club in the summer of 2013 but face uncertain futures after falling out of favour this season.

Paulinho, who was Tottenham's record signing for a few short weeks before the arrivals of Roberto Soldado and then Erik Lamela, started life in north London as an important member of the first team under Andre Villas-Boas during the first half of last season.

But his strained relationship with Tim Sherwood during the second half of the campaign saw him lose his place.

His woes have continued this term, having played just half an hour of Premier League football under Pochettino. Ahead of the January transfer window, Paulinho is now keen to return to his homeland just 18 months after his arrival from Corinthians.

"Players always want to play. I am participating in few games at Tottenham. Maybe it is the opportunity to go back," Paulinho told Lancenet.

"There is interest of Brazilian clubs, but nothing concrete yet. I am glad to have recognition. I feel proud.

"Tottenham invested very big money to transfer me there, but I can work or not, like any other player. I do not have to think about transferring, but any player is subject to a transfer when the window opens."

Chiriches is another to have lost his role in the first team under the former Southampton coach. The Romania international has not featured for Spurs since his dreadful performance against Besiktas in the Europa League in October where he cost his side a win after conceding a late penalty.

24-year-old Chiriches, who has previously attracted interest from Roma, believes he can still turn things around for himself at White Hart Lane but admits he is far from happy with the current situation.

"I don't know anything about the links but I can't say I am very happy at the club," he said. I'm not in the team and it is hard for me. But I think I can improve my game and play."

While the likes of Nacer Chadli, Erik Lamela and Younes Kaboul have been handed prominent roles in the first team by Pochettino, other members of Tottenham's bloated squad have struggled for game time.

Mousa Dembele is another to have lost out having started just two league games this season, but remains hopeful of forcing his way back into the first team.

"We train a lot, I take my games and I have to take my chances," the Belgian international said. "Hopefully in the future I will play a lot more and get physically stronger. It's the first time in my career that this has happened a bit. It's something new and I need to think about it a lot."