During a press conference, Tottenham Hotspur Manager Mauricio Pochettino stated the club’s competitive priorities this season. He was blunt about the fact that Spurs are focusing on two competitions- the English Premier League and UEFA Champions League.
He said that Spurs would like to win the two domestic cups, and will try hard to do so, but those competitions are just not as high on the list of priorities as the two big competitions.
Kudos to Pochettino for putting it out there and telling it like it is, as his side will host Barnsley tomorrow in the League Cup third round. Shame on numerous media outlets for taking his comments and spinning them, twisting them into more click-bait driven headlines that don’t accurately convey what Pochettino really said, and instead attempt to conjure up shock value.
Here’s what he actually said.
“The project here at Tottenham is to try to win the Premier League or the Champions League. For me, that is the two big trophies,” the Argentine told reporters in a news conference.
“OK, I would love to win the Carabao Cup or the FA Cup for our fans, but Tottenham must build a project with the possibility to fight for Champions League or Premier League. Sorry, first of all the Premier League and then the Champions League. If we are going to try to win Carabao Cup or FA Cup, and forget the Premier League or Champions [League], it’s a big mistake.
“I think what it means for a big team to win trophies is to win the Premier League or Champions League. There are a lot of examples: in my second season at Southampton, Wigan won FA Cup. Where is Wigan today, with all my respect? League One. That is the most important example.
“Of course I would like to win trophies, but first of all we’ll fight for the Premier League or the Champions League.”
Spurs are coming off a very disappointing result this past weekend, where they dropped points against lowly Swansea City in a goalless draw. They are currently in the midst of a seven match in 21 days spell, and will naturally have to rest some of the starters and key players in one of the competitions.
Of course, every team has to deal with fixture congestion and massive workload right now.
Under Pochettino, Spurs were the last team standing between the last two league title winners, and they reached the 2015 League Cup final in his first season at White Hart Lane. He also took them to last season’s FA Cup semifinal, but the north London outfit remains sans trophy since 2008. They have not won the league title since 1961.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now and Minute Media. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and Chicago Now.
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