Pochettino’s pot hunters are setting their sights on a treble
SAME place, same competition, different Tottenham. Almost a year to the week since Mauricio Pochettino and his side were shoved out of the Europa League by Fiorentina, they return to the cradle of the Renaissance with a sense of reinvention.
The pushovers of an earlier time have been weeded out, replaced by an army of child soldiers who arrived here yesterday with big dreams and none of the old baggage.
In the context of Spurs’ season of grand opportunities, that could still mean a treble. Crucially, this young squad appears to have the collective backbone and conviction to think they can actually do it. Tottenham, as shown over the course of this strange campaign, is no longer the byword for flaky.
It is perhaps why Pochettino acts so oblivious to what others might consider a gamble and insists on naming strong teams in this competition. He has indicated he will do the same in a tough last-32 fixture tonight, despite the changing landscape since Tottenham’s last European fixture two months ago.
They are second in the Premier League now, reason enough he might sensibly deduce to go easy on a squad that is still rather thin in areas. But Pochettino is adamant he will not lower the goal of winning this competition.
When asked last night if their emergence as title contenders had altered the European ambition, he shook his head and said: ‘ Maybe our position in the table, second place, is a big opportunity to fight for the Premier League. But for me when you are a big club like Tottenham you need to fight in every game.
‘My priority is this game — I don’t think too much for the future. This game is now and the Premier League can wait a few weeks.
‘When you manage Tottenham you try to win every competition and every game.’
WHETHER their squad can take it is the great unknown. They failed to sign cover for Harry Kane in January and opted against replacing Jan Vertonghen, who is out with a knee injury.
A vital cog in the operation is Hugo Lloris, their brilliant goalkeeper and captain who had indicated he would be fit for this fixture but did not travel because of a shoulder injury inflicted in the win at Manchester City on Sunday.
He will also miss the FA Cup fifthround tie against Crystal Palace this weekend, with Spurs hoping he will be fit to face Fiorentina in a week.
Pochettino, who will tonight turn to Michel Vorm in goal, said: ‘In the last action of the game versus Manchester City Hugo got a knock on his shoulder. For Fiorentina he is out and Sunday too.
‘We need to assess him during the week and see if he is available next Thursday. It’s a small injury but always there is an impact.
‘Hugo is our captain and is a very important player for us but it is important we know now the squad and have all the players who are motivated. We believe too in Michel, a top goalkeeper and we trust in him.’
Trust in the squad will be vital, considering Tottenham will face at least 25 games between now and the end of the season if all goes to plan and they reach the finals of the Europa League and the FA Cup.
That would be confirmation, if it were needed, that this Tottenham side have grown into a serious outfit. This time a year ago they drew at home to Fiorentina before wilting badly in the away leg and then losing in the Capital One Cup final. One botched one-on-one from Roberto Soldado in the 2-0 defeat in Italy was so bad that Gary Lineker took to Twitter to call him a ‘poor b****r’, such was his obvious lack of confidence.
There are no such issues this time round, with Tottenham on a seven-match winning streak and breaking new ground in the Premier League.
An aspect of that unexpected challenge is that at this stage last season they had just seven points fewer than now but were five places lower in the table.
That indicates in its own way that their rivals have fallen back, but shows Tottenham have found the requisite mental strength to take advantage, adding the key component that was missing from a talented squad last year.
‘It’s true we improved a lot (in the past year),’ Pochettino said. ‘We need to say we are still the youngest squad in England and we need to improve more and work hard.
‘Our improvement is good but not enough and we need to work hard to try to improve more in the future.’
The frequent assertions that this side is a work in progress disguises somewhat that Tottenham are serious contenders today. Their return to Italy will offer some indication of how far they have come and how much further they might yet go.