POCHETTINO IS IN IT FOR THE LONG HAUL WITH TOTTENHAM
MAURICIO POCHETTINO has given his clearest indication yet that he wants to lead Tottenham into their new stadium next season and remain at the club to compete its transformation despite interest from Real Madrid.
Pochettino is likely to face an enormously difficult choice in the summer if Real Madrid president Florentino Perez pursues his interest. But Pochettino’s words in the wake of the 3-1 victory over the European champions and his extraordinarily close relationship with Spurs chairman Daniel Levy, who gifted him a Bentley, mean that Tottenham seem to have a fighting chance of keeping their man.
Asked whether the Real Madrid job would tempt him to leave, Pochettino said: ‘Before I arrived at Tottenham, everyone said to me: “It’s so difficult to have a very good relationship with Daniel [Levy]. And after, I discovered a great man. Today, I feel that he trusts in me and I trust in him. That is a good point, no?
‘And then, I don’t think too much about my future. I think about today. I don’t care what happens around myself because I know very well that I am so happy here and we have a great relationship. It’s not about win or lose, it’s about trust.
‘And when you achieve that in a club like Tottenham, with a massive potential, you must create something together to try to be strong and win.
‘I feel very important here, I feel very comfortable here and I enjoy a lot the journey.
‘And today, for me, Tottenham is in my head 100 per cent. Today, I do not change Tottenham for another position in the world because I am so involved, I am so focused and because I think the club deserves to have people that think only about the club, the fans, the players and the structures that provide us with an unbelievable life, because that is important to recognise, too.
‘Amazing club, everything is amazing. And it’s so important for us to pay back, no? To pay back the club in the same way that the club treat us.’
Third-placed Spurs are at home to bottom club Crystal Palace today.