Mauricio Pochettino believes Danny Rose is at his best when he is not over-thinking things.
The England left-back, who memorably launched a scathing attack on the club in an interview with a national newspaper in 2017, has enjoyed a resurgence at Tottenham this season, having been told he could leave in the summer if he was not prepared to focus.
He captained the side during the 2-0 Carabao Cup win at Arsenal in midweek and has established himself as Pochettino's first-choice left-back following his recovery from a recent injury.
Danny Rose captains the side for the first time since January 2016 👊#COYS pic.twitter.com/RE4pUlxEnv — Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) December 19, 2018
Pochettino, who revealed he had an instant connection with the left-back, wants him to concentrate on what he is good at and let him worry about other things ahead of Sunday's trip to Everton.
"There's no doubt about Danny Rose's quality," the Argentinian said.
"There's no doubt. He's a great player. But like all players with quality, he needs to be focused on his job.
"If you focus, and you train and you care about yourself and don't think too much... Danny is a thinker. He thinks too much.
"I'm always saying, 'Danny, hey, you're thinking too much, you need to stop, work and deliver the job we want. Don't think!'
"When he arrives here at the training ground, he asks, 'What are we going to do? One lap, training session, tactical session? Gym or no gym? Shower or no shower? Eat or not eat?' Stop! Relax! Don't think! We think for him.
"Sometimes he tries to think for us too. We've said. 'Danny you spend too much energy in thinking about everything. You need to come here and stop thinking and we are going to manage you. Do this, do that, go to shower, go to lunch and when you drive home, you can start to think again'.
"But you need five or six hours with us where you don't need to think or manage yourself. Because we need to manage the players.
"If not, he wants to manage himself, to manage us, to manage everyone. And he spends too much energy and then he doesn't have energy for what he needs to do. And that is a very dangerous situation."
Despite having to make him relinquish control, Pochettino enjoys a strong relationship with Rose.
Asked whether the left-back is the hardest player he has had to manage, Pochettino said: "No, because he is a lucky man.
"When I arrived, I'm not sure why but I connected with him. He felt my love. That doesn't mean that he's always going to play because I love Ben Davies too.
"We had a very good connection from day one. As he always told you, he was out (of the team) when I arrived and I stopped him from moving away from Tottenham. That's why now he needs to pay me back."
