Mauricio Pochettino on Harry Kane's Fitness & His Team Selection for the Champions League Final

From Madrid - Mauricio Pochettino has called for his Tottenham players to play with "freedom" in their Champions League final clash with Liverpool on Saturday, and has refused to confirm if Harry Kane will start the game.

Kane completed training without any complications in Madrid on Friday, but has missed his team's matches since the middle of April with an ankle injury. 

Pochettino faced up to the press ahead of training on Friday evening, and answered a number of questions. Here's the best of it.

On Whether He's Decided His Starting Lineup

Poch was coy, but answered whether he'd decided to start his star man even before the question was answered: "No. We will have a training session now and then we will decide."

“This is not going to be easy to make a decision tomorrow. Every single game you need to make a decision and we need to know every single decision and we will make the one to try to win.”

On the Decision Process for Selecting His Team

"This is not going to be easy to take a decision tomorrow. It was difficult in the last game that we played, in the semi-finals, the quarter-finals, and the last 16. Tomorrow is going to be another decision - for sure we'll make sure we have all the information and we know every single detail. We're going to take the best decision to win.

"We can only use 11 players from the beginning. That is the most painful situation.

"Tomorrow is a great opportunity to show that football is a collective sport, that the 25 players are so important because the energy of the players who are not playing is going to translate into the dressing room. It's going to be decisive - players can be sad, or helping. 

"It's part of my job to decide."

On Whether He's Lost Weight

*Stands up to show off his body, smirking* "It's the same!"

On Liverpool

Getty Images/GettyImages

"Liverpool is a great team. Along with Manchester City they are the best team in England. I think they were competing head to head in the Premier League and of course an unbelievable Champions League.

"And then one year ago they were in the final, and I think they deserve full credit. I think tomorrow is about enjoying for us, and about winning. We know very well what we need to do."

On the Pressure of the Champions League Final

Clive Rose/GettyImages

"I think tomorrow, it's important to be ready. How you are going to express yourself depends on how you prepare and how you build to arrive in this situation, in this competition. Under distress, you need auto-pilot. You need to feel safe and then when there's one billion watching you play in a final, more than ever.

"We need to play with freedom - the key is not to think there's one billion people watching you - go there, enjoy, play, run altogether, helping each other, communication."