Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Eric Dier has insisted that his relationship with Mauricio Pochettino is now "stronger" than ever following a high-profile spat with his manager last year.
Pochettino revealed in new book Brave New World that he was unhappy with the way Dier engaged in conversation with Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho after a league game at Old Trafford in December 2016.
The 45-year-old felt that Mourinho deliberately attempted to "unsettle" Dier, while also suggesting that the versatile midfielder's performances suffered as a result.
Dier has moved to clarify the fallout, however, stressing that he has always had a mutual respect with his manager of three years.
"This is something that happened last Christmas. The book is a very honest account, and it's nice for fans to have that insight about what goes on, that it's not all lovey-dovey, but context is important," he told The Times. "This was last Christmas. The book has come out now, so it has resurfaced, but for a long time my relationship with the manager has been great.
"It's always been very good. Obviously, you can't see eye-to-eye on everything, but if anything our relationship is stronger for what we went through together. The manager's point of view was [the friendliness with Mourinho] was disrespectful to him. [The dialogue] was more him getting that message across than me getting my message across.
"I grew up in Portugal. Portuguese people are very proud and it's a small country. It doesn't have the economic power of a country such as England, so people like Mourinho, [Cristiano] Ronaldo, they're extremely proud of it. Growing up there I was within all that, you know? I didn't want to be disrespectful to anyone. I completely understand where the manager was coming from but I believe I was stuck in the middle of something I couldn't really affect."
England international Dier has featured in all 17 of Tottenham's league and cup matches so far this season.
Daniel Lewis
