Poch aware of PSG demands
ENGLAND: LOOK FOR WAYS TO REPEL HOSTS’ SPIN ATTACK
Paris – Mauricio Pochettino (above) was given the luxury of time at Tottenham Hotspur to build a team that would go on to reach a Champions League final, but the Argentine knows the demands are different now he is in charge at Paris Saint-Germain.
“We got to the Champions League final after five years working towards it. We built a platform and a structure and our objective was to be able to compete for these things,” Pochettino said in an interview in Paris, where he arrived in January refreshed after more than a year out of the game following his departure from Tottenham.
He took the north London club to the 2019 final, cementing his reputation as one Europe’s most exciting coaches despite losing 2-0 to Liverpool in Madrid.
“We had gone almost two years at Tottenham without signing any players when we got to the final. We have only been here two months,” he points out.
“At Tottenham we had the necessary time to develop something and it bore fruit with a mix of young players and experienced players.
“The project at PSG has been a different one for a number of years. We will see how we can create a project that will be different to what we did at Tottenham but will have the same objective, to win.”
Nothing less will do for the Argentine, whose predecessor Thomas Tuchel was sacked in December, four months after taking PSG to the Champions League final, having secured a clean sweep of the domestic honours in France.
The Qatar-owned club lost to Bayern Munich in Lisbon, and Pochettino knows the aim now is to go one better and win the trophy.
“Obviously this club aspires to win the Champions League. Lots of other clubs are trying to win it too, and have invested lots of money but can’t win it because it is not so easy,” he says.
So far things are looking good in Europe, with Kylian Mbappe's hat-trick helping Pochettino’s side thrash Barcelona 4-1 away in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie last month.
The return is on 10 March, but a quarterfinal place seems secure, while PSG are currently second in Ligue 1, two points behind leaders Lille.
It has been a whirlwind start to life back in Paris for Pochettino, who played for PSG between 2001 and 2003, including catching the coronavirus. –
India and England return to the scene of last week’s hotly debated two-day Test tomorrow with the hosts looking to secure a place in the World Test Championship final.
The first Test held at the Narendra Modi Stadium, the world’s biggest cricket venue, turned out to be one of the shortest in history as England were thrashed inside two days.
The result, which left India 2-1 up in the four-Test series and ruled England out of the world championship final, prompted accusations that the uber spin-friendly pitch was not up to standard.
England skipper Joe Root returned the extraordinary figures of five wickets for eight runs with his part-time off-spin, in a daynight game that lasted just 842 balls – the shortest Test since 1935.
Former England players demanded answers from the International Cricket Council, accusing it of letting the wealthy and powerful Indian board get away with providing poor pitches.
But West Indies great Viv Richards said England should stop “moaning and groaning” and adapt to the conditions.
The England team have largely stayed quiet during the controversy, and bowling coach Jeetan Patel said the tourists were looking for ways to repel India’s spin attack.
“I expect this Test to be on a spinning wicket,” he told reporters. “We need to find a way, if we win the toss particularly, to put on a decent total first up.”
Spinner Jack Leach said there was more talk about the pitch in the media than in the England dressing room.
“Still a hell of a lot for us to play for,” said Leach, who has 16 wickets in the first three Tests.
“Obviously if we win this game we draw the series. I think that will be a massive effort over here and we should be really motivated to make that happen.”
Virat Kohli’s India need a win or a draw to book a clash with New Zealand in the inaugural World Test Championship final.
An England win would put Australia into the decider at Lord’s in June.
India’s premier spinner Ravichandran Ashwin pushed back at criticism of the pitch, saying commentators don’t get to decide what is a good or a bad cricket wicket. –