Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino says several players will need late fitness tests before the Premier League season opener at West Ham.

Nacer Chadli, Mousa Dembele, Paulinho and Jan Vertonghen have not been ruled out of tomorrow’s visit to Upton Park but the new Tottenham Hotspur manager will take a final look at them before announcing his 18-man squad.

Michael Dawson (ankle), Vlad Chiriches (back) and Kyle Walker (pelvis) are also doubtful.

Pochettino, who arrived at the club in May following Tim Sherwood’s departure, says he is looking forward to the start of the season after overseeing the club’s unbeaten pre-season schedule.

He told the club website: “It’s great to have the start of the season. We’ve worked hard pre-season and we are ready to compete. We enjoy the competition.

“We expect a tough game, it’s a derby and we go there to play with our skill and try to win the game.”

The head coach also played down speculation a number of his squad will leave White Hart Lane before the end of the transfer deadline at the end of this month.

He added: “We are fortunate to have a squad full of quality, as I have said on numerous occasions, and we are not expecting to see much movement before the end of the transfer window.

“We will loan out some of our younger players to help further their development. Several of our players are under 21 so we don’t envisage a problem meeting the Premier League’s squad limit of 25.”