THE BEST WRITERS, THE BEST COVERAGE
Martin Samuel Ian Ladyman Pete Jenson Chris Wheeler Philip Quinn
TOTTENHAM boss Mauricio Pochettino proved to be unusually candid on matters of a Carabao Cup quarter-final at Arsenal.
Hugo Lloris would not play tonight, he explained, and Harry Kane was a serious doubt having missed training with a cold. On another day, the prospect of Tottenham tackling their fiercest rivals without their captain and top scorer might have sent shockwaves across north London.
On this occasion, however, it could barely distract from Jose Mourinho’s dismissal at Manchester United and the fear Tottenham might be the ones to suffer serious collateral damage.
The move towards appointing an interim coach to succeed Mourinho at Old Trafford supported the theory of summer swoop for their top target — and their top target was the man fielding questions with a Spurs cockerel on his chest.
‘Rumours happen in football,’ shrugged Pochettino, as he offered his ‘best wishes’ to his ‘friend’ Mourinho and insisted he was ‘happy’ to have another fourand-a-half years remaining on an £8.5million-a-year contract signed less than seven months ago.
‘I am not creating these rumours. In nearly five years, there have been a lot of rumours about my position as manager of Tottenham. More than any other club.’
Yet, there was no irrefutable pledge to stay and the 46-year-old Argentine has many influential admirers. Not least Alex Ferguson, who met him for lunch in Mayfair in May 2016 at a time when he was keen to promote Pochettino as a successor to Louis van Gaal.
Others in the United boardroom thought Mourinho’s pedigree as a serial winner of trophies made him a safer option. Indeed, he delivered the League Cup and Europa League within his first year at Old Trafford.
Pochettino has not won a major trophy but his stock has risen as he transformed Spurs into an elite force by qualifying for the Champions League three years in a row while committed to attractive and adventurous football.
He has promoted and improved young players and not spent heavily on transfers at a time when the club has invested in a new £850m stadium. Tottenham were the only club to spend nothing on recruitment in the summer and are unlikely to spend when the transfer market reopens next month.
‘The Premier League is completely different to 20 years ago,’ said Pochettino. ‘It’s more competitive. The investment of the big clubs is amazing, and we are in a completely different project. We are in the same race but we are not in the same car. Maybe in the future.
‘We want to win. We need time. We need luck. We need to work hard.’
Inside the dressing room, there is a growing feeling that time is running out with Pochettino hankering for a new challenge after five years at Tottenham.
Last week, when a draw in Bar- celona clinched a place in the Champions League last 16, Danny Rose said his manager deserved to be in the frame for jobs at Manchester United and Real Madrid, and, yesterday, Kane delivered an urgent message ahead of the Carabao Cup tie.
‘We have to start winning trophies,’ Kane told Sky Sports. ‘The stage we are at now as a team, it is the next step for us. If we win this one, it will be another tough team out of the tournament, so it is a big opportunity for us.’
It hints at a worst-case scenario for chairman Levy: Lose Pochettino and his inner circle of staff and you risk exposing so much more.
Without him, can they expect to keep coveted stars such as Kane, Lloris, Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen? Can they maintain their status as Champions League regulars? Can they maintain this impressive progress?
Mourinho’s exit will force the issue. Real Madrid like the look of Pochettino and a move to Spain would avoid the Premier League tribalism.
Will they too move on Tottenham? How will Spurs cope with the uncertainty? Can they keep their man?
‘Like always in football, no one can guarantee nothing,’ said Pochettino. ‘When you are a manager, look at what happens. If a chairman or president is going to support you then it’s because you are going to be sacked the day after. The job is so tough. Nobody in football can guarantee you are going to be here tomorrow. In football, I say today is white and tomorrow is black.
‘For me the most important is to be natural. What is going to happen in the summer? What is going to happen tomorrow? No one knows. Most important is to enjoy the journey. I’m so happy here.’