Still reasons to fight – Pochettino
Stoke could upset Arsenal’s plans of finishing in Premiership top four Chiefs up against trouble-making Citizens
TOTTENHAM Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino admitted he found it hard to lift his squad following their demoralising defeat to West Ham last weekend, which all but extinguished their Premier League title hopes.
Leaders Chelsea had the chance to wrap up their second title in three seasons when they visited West Bromwich Albion on Friday night, which would have left Spurs battling to secure the runners-up spot when they host Manchester United on Sunday.
“The season so far has been good, but when you don’t win you feel disappointed,” Pochettino said yesterday.
“It was difficult from Monday to Wednesday at training and it was difficult to be happy, but then we have only been focused on Manchester United.
“We are looking forward to playing and the last game at White Hart Lane so there are many reasons to be focused.”
Spurs will play next season’s home games at Wembley while their new stadium is completed.
Having played at a temporary home during his time with Espanyol, Pochettino believes the move could inspire Spurs to win silverware.
“Why shouldn’t we win some trophies in the season at Wembley?” he added.
“After leaving Sarria (Stadium), we spent 12 years at the Olympic Stadium in Montjuic, and won the Copa del Rey twice.”
Spurs are unbeaten at home in the league this season, collecting a league-high 50 points from 18 games.
Meanwhile, Mark Hughes believes Stoke City can upset Arsenal’s Champions League qualification hopes today, the manager saying his side are ready to fulfil their own ambitions of finishing in the top eight of the Premier League.
Ahead of the weekend’s clash Stoke have collected 12 points and have been unbeaten at home in their last six league games against the London side.
“We certainly aren’t fazed by Arsenal, despite them coming into the game on the back of a really strong run of results,” Hughes said on Friday.
“I’ve always liked going up against them. They have pace, power and very good technical abilities, so we have to be on the top of our game.
“Our record stands up with anybody against Arsenal, so we will use that to our advantage.”
With two games to play, 13th-placed Stoke could still finish as high as eighth in the standings.
Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal are fifth in the standings and have an outside chance of finishing in the top four for the 21st consecutive season.
They trail fourth-placed Manchester City by three points and third-placed Liverpool by four, with a game in hand over the Merseyside club.
Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp has said that the 14-point gap between his club and leaders Chelsea is not an accurate reflection of the difference in quality between the sides.
“Everything is still in our hands,” Klopp told British media.
“It shows a lot of things are not that bad even if not everything is how we wanted.
“All the teams have to play tough games and no one wins all of them. Now we have to win ours and it will be fine.”
The German said that with Liverpool having won 2-1 at Stamford Bridge and drawing 1-1 with Chelsea at Anfield in the league this season, there was very little to choose between the sides in terms of quality.
POLOKWANE City host Kaizer Chiefs at the New Peter Mokaba Stadium in the Absa Premiership this evening (6pm) hoping for an upset of sorts.
Rise and Shine will be banking on their home form to stun Steve Komphela’s charges, who have stuttered in recent times.
The sides are separated by 10 points and one place on the table, but still the Citizens will keep fighting to ensure their spot in the top eight. They are sixth on the log with 37 points from 27 games.
The Polokwane-based outfit go into this game on the back of a loss after they saw their winning run come to an end when they were defeated 3-2 by SuperSport United last weekend.
However, prior to that, they dispatched Golden Arrows at home and Free State Stars away.
The Citizens will also be gunning for revenge against Chiefs, having lost in the first round 3-2 at FNB Stadium back in December.
“We know Chiefs will come here to try for three points and we will have to fight hard for victory,” said midfielder Sammy Seabi.
“We lost the first leg so we must fight for this one to consolidate our position in the top eight.
“Everybody is aware what they bring. Although we are at home, we mustn’t underestimate them. We know they are capable of winning games and we must respect them as Chiefs have quality players. I am sure we will be ready.”
The Soweto giants are also desperate for points because they have not been consistent in their performances recently, if results in the league are anything to go by.
They lost 3-2 to Cape Town City, and drew 2-2 with SuperSport United and 1-1 with Golden Arrows last week. The Naturena-based outfit occupy fifth spot with 47 points from 27 matches, one point behind fourth-placed SuperSport, who have played a game more.
Although they have already secured a spot in the MTN8 Cup, Chiefs will hope to wrap up their 2016/17 PSL campaign in style.
Coach Komphela will have to ensure his defence is solid and avoid conceding goals in the dying stages of the match as they did against Arrows in their most recent outing.
In fact, their failure to remain switched on has cost them valuable points in their previous three encounters. “We messed up against Arrows and will take the next three matches seriously, starting with Polokwane,” says Komphela.
“Dropping points by conceding late in the game has cost us plenty this season.
“It’s unfair to the supporters and everybody else who want to see us winning. I am very disappointed. We’ve suffered far too many setbacks like this.
“It’s as if we don’t learn from these mistakes. Each time it happens you ask yourself, ‘why does it happen so often?’ We don’t know when we will do better – the matches we should win we are giving away. It needs to improve, starting with Polokwane.” – ANA