Pochettino’s crying game

MAURICIO POCHETTINO said he is likely to cry tomorrow when Tottenham close the doors on White Hart Lane.

Their clash with Manchester United will bring down the curtain on 118 years at the ground and Pochettino expects he will shed a tear.

He said: ‘For myself, because I am a very sensitive person and so emotional it will be difficult not to cry on Sunday, because always you suffer for the people that will be so emotional.

‘For the fans it means a lot in the same way but our fans are so excited to welcome the new stadium, too. They are excited about the progress, the future of the club.’

The progress at Tottenham in Pochettino’s three seasons has been rapid, with a fifth-placed debut campaign followed by third in 2015-16 and a likely runners-up spot this time.

But they were questioned last week by Antonio Conte, who argued that Spurs actually held an ‘advantage’ over Chelsea going into this campaign because of the length of time spent under Pochettino and the chaos at Stamford Bridge last season. Pochettino responded yesterday by calling the comments ‘unfair’.

He also pointed to Chelsea’s £120million outlay on transfers last summer. Pochettino said: ‘It’s difficult for him because he was always a manager who liked to work and to develop talent.

‘It’s difficult when you sign for a club like Chelsea and you have the pressure to win and you spend the money that they spent on David Luiz, Marcos Alonso, Michy Batshuayi, N’Golo Kante.’