DON’T BE TOO HARD ON POCH
Winning isn’t easy, says Conte
BEFORE becoming the manager of Chelsea, Antonio Conte asked Mauricio Pochettino if he could visit Tottenham’s training ground to observe how he works.
Had Pochettino known Conte would one day stand between him and Tottenham’s first win at Stamford Bridge since 1990, he might have politely vetoed the fact-finding mission.
Instead, he said yes and the two men spent an afternoon together in February 2015, talked football and became friends. But tomorrow they will be Premier League foes fighting for a top-four finish.
It may not be the last time they meet this season if they both reach the FA Cup final. That is the last chance of silverware for both, but Chelsea’s head coach was full of admiration for his Tottenham counterpart when asked about his lack of trophies.
According to Conte, if Pochettino wanted to secure ‘ easy’ silverware, then he would quit Spurs for the likes of Real Madrid or Paris Saint-Germain.
‘If you want to win trophies, maybe for important managers, it is easier to go to another country,’ said Conte. ‘In England, never will it be easy to win trophies. I consider Pochettino a really good manager. I think that, if Tottenham grew a lot in this period, he has to take a lot of credit for that.
‘Don’t forget that only one team can win the title and, in England, it’s not simple. You start every competition with six top teams who are ready to win something during the season.
‘ Every important manager wants to finish the season with a trophy. When you are the coach in an important team, the target must be this.’
Should that be Tottenham’s target too? ‘Don’t forget that, two years ago, they were very close to winning the title when Leicester won it,’ Conte said. ‘ Last season they tried to compete with us. Don’t forget that our final part of the season was incredible. We won 10 games, otherwise Tottenham were ready to win it.’
This is the first time Tottenham have visited Chelsea since captain John Terry left. Following their 2-2 draw in 2016 — the infamous Battle of the Bridge — Terry tweeted: ‘What a game. 27 years. Not on my shift.’
Terry is no longer around but Chelsea are hopeful Andreas Christensen will be able to feature in central defence while striker Alvaro Morata, who has not scored in the league this year, is set to start despite back issues. Meanwhile, Toby Alderweireld looks set to leave Tottenham after Pochettino admitted he was no longer one of his first- choice defenders. Manchester United, Paris Saint- Germain and Real Madrid are keen on the centre half, who does want to sign a new contract, and Spurs are understood to be willing to accept £50million for him in the summer.
The 29-year-old featured twice for Belgium over the last week but has not played in a league game since October 28. That is a concern for Belgium boss Roberto Martinez, who admitted it was important Alderweireld played between now and the World Cup. Pochettino revealed he had received a message from Martinez but insisted he would not drop anyone to give Alderweireld playing time.
He said: ‘I need to pick the players that I believe are the best players to win against Chelsea. Toby has struggled with his injury in the last four months and I am not going to change the system because he needs games for the World Cup.’