Tottenham left Vertonghen out of their 18-man squad against Villa on Saturday because he wasn’t fit enough, according to the Daily Mail.
The defender’s omission from the squad raised eyebrows – as well as disappointed a number of fantasy football players.
But, the Belgian had a poor pre-season and Pochettino made the decision that he wasn’t ready for the new season.
The manager isn’t afraid to drop other star players if they aren’t pulling their weight, he insisted.
Ahead of the match, Pochettino said that the decision to omit Vertonghen was purely tactical.
He insisted that within their squad, all of the players should expect rotation.
The Spurs manager told Sky Sports: “With all the players fit you struggle to find a starting eleven.
“This is my sixth season, I think everyone knows me. I am going to play the players who I believe deserve to play.
“There is not any issue [with Vertonghen], only my decision was to play with Toby [Alderweireld] and Davinson [Sanchez].
‘We have more than 25 players and everyone needs to understand we have plenty of good players in every position.”
Vertonghen featured in all five of Tottenham’s pre-season friendlies.
He started four of the matches, against Manchester United, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and Inter Milan.
Vertonghen has just one year left on his contract, and he’s admitted that he doesn’t know whether he’ll be offered a new deal.
The Belgian has made 210 Premier League appearances for Spurs since his arrival in 2012.
Despite his absence, Spurs managed to win the match against Villa 3-1 after going a goal behind.
Two goals from England international Harry Kane, as well as a stunning strike from new signing Tanguy Ndombele, helped Tottenham to their first three points of the new season.