Whether you love or hate Tottenham Hotspur, you have to credit the club for this- they certainly only sell the players they wish to part ways with. They hold on to the players that they want to keep. Yesterday, Mauricio Pochettino addressed the concerns of the fan base who have watched a summer transfer window in which Spurs have made zero additions, and only one major transaction- the sale of defender Kyle Walker to Manchester City.
Pochettino also gave a reaction to an opinion stated by a major figure at a rival club.
“It made me laugh because I don’t know why other people are so focused on my players and our club,” Pochettino said of Chelsea Manager Antonio Conte saying that Tottenham striker Harry Kane is worth £100 million.
Pochettino then called upon managers of rival clubs to “show respect” to White Hart Lane, to not condescend as Conte did earlier this week. The Argentine was hitting back at Conte’s remarks that Spurs don’t have the same sky high expectations as Chelsea, and the other giant clubs.
“I respect every single opinion. I am so respectful of other players, other clubs, other managers, the owners of different clubs. My job is to be focused on my players and my team. I show respect. I’m not a manager who likes to speak about other clubs or managers or what happens in the corner,” Pochettino said.
“It makes me happy that other managers say I have the best striker in the league, but I respect every single philosophy and, for me, the most important thing is to show more respect. ”
“I like to show respect to people that behave another way, only I expect the same from people that compete with us.”
“Sometimes people are too excited to reply. I think it’s important to keep calm, respect every opinion. You don’t need to start to talk about another club because it’s most important to be focused on your club.”
Pochettino continued:
“It’s true for different clubs when they spend a lot of money that the expectation and pressure is massive, but it’s the same for us because it’s our own pressure and our own ambition. It doesn’t mean because so far we haven’t invested money or signed players that our ambitions is to the same as clubs that have signed a lot of players and spent a lot of money.”
Here’s what Conte said earlier in the week (and you can see why Pochettino definitely had to respond):
“If they don’t win the title, it’s not a tragedy. If they don’t arrive in the Champions League, it’s not a tragedy. If they go out in the first round of the Champions League, it’s not a tragedy. If they go out after the first game that they play in the Europa League and go down against Gent, it’s not a tragedy.”
“Maybe for Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United and — I don’t know — Liverpool, it is a tragedy. You must understand this. You must understand the status of the team.”
The Gent remark? Wow. Conte pulled no punches there and the Spurs boss had no choice but to answer that classless remark. Conte showed poor sportsmanship with his remarks there, and he just added more fuel to an already heated rivalry. Not that Spurs were looking to sell any player to Chelsea before, but they definitely won’t now.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV.
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