The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Second season and now is time for Tottenham to deliver
Mauricio Pochettino admits Tottenham fluffed their first attempt at the Champions League last season but insists there will be no excuses second time round.
Spurs host Borussia Dortmund at Wembley tonight as they try to learn from the mistakes of a disappointing opening campaign under Pochettino at Europe’s top table.
After failing to progress from a relatively kind group that featured CSKA Moscow, Leverkusen and Monaco, Pochettino claimed his squad had struggled to cope with the physical and mental demands of the Champions League.
They are one season wiser this year but have also been handed a far tougher draw that, as well as Dortmund, includes champions Real Madrid in Group H.
Cypriot side APOEL complete the line-up and it may be that Tottenham’s best chance of qualification is to beat Dortmund to second place. They cannot afford another slow start like 12 months ago.
“Last season was our first experience of the Champions League – previously we play Europa League, for 98, 99% of the players, and for myself too,” Pochettino said.
“That experience of last season is important. We know very well what the competition demands from us, and I think that is so important. It was a very painful experience because we could not be at the level we should have been but today, it’s not an excuse. We know it will be very tough. We need to be ready to compete at a higher level.”
Pochettino is also finding his feet in the Champions League. He chopped and changed his tactics throughout last year’s tournament and only settled on his current formation of choice, 3-4-2-1, after Spurs’ hopes of qualification were over.
The Argentinian, however, has successfully ce- mented Tottenham among the Premier League’s elite and now he has Europe’s super clubs in his sights.
“Remember me, three years ago I said we needed to reduce the gap with the big sides and three years after we are trying to win the Premier League,” Pochettino said.
“Why not now start again to create the same in the Champions League and try to reduce the gap with these clubs? They are at a different level.”