Tottenham Hotspur head coach Mauricio Pochettino has called on fans to get behind striker Emmanuel Adebayor ahead of his side’s FA Cup fourth round clash against Leicester City.

Spurs take on the Foxes at White Hart Lane tomorrow, just three days after their 1-0 Capital One Cup semi-final first leg win against Sheffield United, during which the Togo forward was booed by the some sections of the home support despite wearing the captain’s armband.

And Pochettino said there needs to be a better atmosphere inside the stadium to help lift the team towards success.

He said: "It is best if fans don’t boo. All players need to feel the support from the stands, this is better for him and the team. We need to create a better atmosphere to try to get success.”

Adebayor could retain his role as captain unless Younes Kaboul is named in the side tomorrow, as Pochettino weighs up rotating his side during a busy month of games.

The Argentine has a full squad to choose from for the match, including the possible return of Erik Lamela, though midfielder Nacer Chadli is still on leave in Morocco following his father’s death. He is due to return to training on Monday.

Pochettino said: “We need to analyse a lot of things from the players and the games. Maybe it’s a time to rotate some players but I haven’t decided which players.

“Maybe there will not be a lot of change but we need to keep fighting in all four competitions. We have a very busy period ahead, a lot of games. Tomorrow will be the 37th official game, that’s nearly one season, so we need to keep all our players in a good condition for fighting in all four competitions. We need to be ready [for a replay] if it happens because it’s an important competition.”

Spurs, however, will be without full-back Kyle Naughton, who this week completed a £5million move to Swansea.

“He always tried to play more than he played in the past,” said Pochettino on Naughton’s choice to leave the club. “His decision was to find a club to have more opportunity to play and I agreed with his decision after the club arrived at a deal with Swansea.

“I was happy with him, with his performance, but he wanted to play more than he played and his decision was to find a solution and Swansea gives him the opportunity to play more regularly than he played here.”

The head coach wouldn’t be drawn on speculation that Aaron Lennon, who has struggled to hold down a first team place, could also be on the move.

But he added: “You never know. I’m happy but the situation like Kyle Naughton may happen next week. In football you never know.

“It’s difficult [in January] because the window is open. There’s a lot of interest from different clubs. It’s good for action but bad for the manager or head coach because you never know.

“It always happens the same, with the player who hasn’t played too much and they’re unhappy and want to find a club where they can play more than they played in the past. But we need to be focused on our job and try to keep our motivation.

“Now is a very important period because we have very important games and we need to keep our player focused on the games. It’s not easy. At this moment you say why is there not only one transfer window in the year? Maybe it’s better because now you can manage all situations from your players. A lot of interest arrives at the player and the club; it’s not an easy period and is maybe one thing for the future we need to propose to change.”

Spurs are yet to make any signings this January beyond the arrival of United States international DeAndre Yedlin – a deal that was first agreed last summer and was due to be confirmed at the end of this season. But following the impact of academy players including Harry Kane and Ryan Mason, who this week signed a new five-and-a-half year contract, Pochettino says there are plenty of other youngsters who could make the step up.

He said: “We follow all players from the academy. We detect a lot of young talent but we need time to settle them and then have the possibility to have them play. Home-grown players are important for us because they are our identity. They are very important. But we need a mix, and to be careful with all young players that come through the academy. But I am happy with them.

“For me it’s important to keep this identity through the academy. If they have potential to be first-team players, we need to give them the opportunity to play.”