Pochettino lifts lid on England coach row
TOTTENHAM manager Mauricio Pochettino reveals in his new book one of the reasons why the club protested so strongly about coach Steve Holland working for both Chelsea and England.
Holland is now the full- time assistant to England manager Gareth Southgate. But his previous role with Chelsea led to Pochettino letting rip at Holland (below) when England used Spurs’ training ground — as they will again during the upcoming international week.
Pochettino does not mention him by name but it can only be Holland about whom he is writing in
Brave New World when he refers to the 2-2 draw with Chelsea that ended Spurs hopes of catching Leicester at the climax to the 2015-16 season.
‘Chelsea have an assistant who also works for the international team,’ Pochettino wrote. ‘He should set an example. He certainly did no such thing that day. The way he looked at us as they piled on the pressure, or the way he came over to our bench to celebrate Chelsea’s goals was not right, unnecessary.
‘When I saw that assistant soon after at our training ground, which the national team was using, I made my feelings very clear to him.
‘Given England’s financial muscle, it doesn’t make sense for it not to have its own coaching staff and use club coaches instead. It was something that drove Nicola Cortese (former Southampton executive chairman) up the wall.’
An FA spokesman said Pochettino is always very friendly when England use Tottenham’s facilities.
All Blacks rugby squad, who arrived at the Lensbury in Teddington at the weekend, are quite happy to mingle with other hotel guests and club members in the public areas. It just goes to underline how naff it is for the England management to insist the Hilton Hotel at St George’s Park is closed off to non-football personnel when they are in residence. The decision will be reviewed at the end of the year.
CHELSEA, under new commercial director Chris Townsend, are inviting potential backers to Stamford Bridge to discuss potential five-year deals. Townsend is the London 2012 executive who once compared himself in a magazine interview to Sir Alex Ferguson. Chelsea are seeking £40million for a global partnership, £65m for a sleeve deal and £26m for advertising on the interview backdrop. In an idea long used by Manchester United, Chelsea show their clients how their name would look on the various sponsorship opportunities when they visit the club.
ECB appear to have chosen the Desert Springs resort in Almeria, Spain as their warm-weather training base. England cricket director Andrew Strauss has just shown his bosses Colin Graves and Tom Harrison around the location and six separate bookings have been made for various England teams this winter.