Spurs primed to pounce, says Poch
LONDON — Mauricio Pochettino said his Tottenham Hotspur side is building a winning mentality and will be ready to capitalize if leader Chelsea stumbles in the Premier League race.
Spurs’ emphatic 4-0 victory over Watford at White Hart Lane on Saturday kept the pressure on the Blues.
The odds are still heavily stacked in favor of the championship trophy returning to Stamford Bridge after Chelsea beat Bournemouth 3-1 later in the day to stay seven points clear at the top.
Spurs manager Pochettino, though, insists his side will not give up and is developing the winning mentality that will allow it to step up its challenge in the future, even if it falls short again this season.
“We’re talking about building that winning mentality: it was a good opportunity to be aware that in the future to win trophies we must keep going, pushing, believing, and respect the way we play,” he said. “That’s the most important thing.
“The message for us is to keep pushing, winning games. That’s our job, and then what happens this afternoon with Chelsea is their problem.
“We’ll see. If they fail, our job is done because we are there, but still it’s up to them to win the Premier League,” added Pochettino, before Chelsea’s victory over the Cherries.
First-half goals from Dele Alli, Eric Dier and Son Heung-min put Tottenham in control against the Hornets.
South Korea international Son grabbed a second goal nine minutes into the second half to complete the rout.
A successful afternoon for Spurs was capped by the return of England striker Harry Kane from injury.
However, Pochettino is convinced his squad has shown it is strong enough to cope without Kane or any other key player.
“We talk about players, managers, a lot of topics in football, but football for me is about the team, or the squad, and all the players feel very important during the season,” said the Argentine.
“Today’s a very good example, to try to change our mentality. It’s not about who plays, it’s about playing in every opportunity.
“The fans want to know what happens with different players, but football today is going in a completely different direction to 10, 15 years ago; today it’s a collective matter, more than before.
“If you don’t show a strong mentality, in 25 players, you’re not going to be able to rotate, give opportunities to others, to feel important to the project. It’s so difficult to win titles.”
The former Southampton manager, bidding to guide Tottenham to its first English title since 1961, added: “For us it’s now to be focused on the next game. That is the most important thing. If not, you start to spend time away from reality.”
Watford coach Walter Mazzarri said his side was unfortunate to find itself on the wrong end of a one-sided scoreline and believes it has made progress over the course of the season.