Pochettino may move on if Tottenham win trophy
Mauricio Pochettino has suggested he may look for a new challenge if he can lead Tottenham to Champions League glory.
Pochettino has turned himself into one of the most highlyregarded managers in Europe for the work he has done at Spurs, where his original brief was to deliver Champions League football within five years.
During that time they have twice challenged for the Premier League title and, in their third successive European Cup campaign, are now one win away from a possible final.
They do have a rescue mission to perform in Amsterdam as they are trailing Ajax 1-0 from the semi-final first leg last week.
However, the manner of their
second-half performance, and an impressive track record away from home in this competition over the last three years, means the prospect of a final appearance in Madrid next month is very much a possibility.
Pochettino, who has been linked with jobs at Manchester United and Real Madrid in the last 12 months, hinted that winning the competition with Spurs would leave him looking for “something different”.
Asked whether he thought winning the Champions League would have been possible five years ago, he said: “Winning the Champions League? It should be fantastic, no? Close the five-year chapter and go home.”
Pushed on the matter further and asked whether he was joking, he added: “It’s not a joke, why? To win the Champions League with Tottenham in these circumstances this season, maybe I need to think about maybe doing something different in the future. Because to repeat this miracle, you know...”
Spurs have history in their grasp as they have never reached the final of the European Cup before and even if they cannot do it on Wednesday, Pochettino reiterated that he is “living the dream”.
“For us it’ s a bonus, for myself it’s a bonus,” he said. “Of course now we are there, we want to try to win, we want to win and be in the final. I’m not thinking about if we are creating history or doing something special.
“The most important is to try to enjoy, to try and bring to the players that belief, as we have done to get here but we must also dream.”
Striker Harry Kane will only take a watching brief as he has not recovered from his ankle injury while Harry Winks (groin) and Davinson Sanchez (thigh) are also out.
Ajax defender Daley Blind says his side’s cup final win celebration sat the weekend were “timid” owing to the gravity of their looming clash with Tottenham.the Dutch side won the KNVB Cup with a 4-0 victory over Willem II on Sunday but thoughts immediately turned to the semi-final second leg.
Blind said: “We celebrated in the stadium with the fans. After that it was timid, we had food with the players and after that, we went home.
“It’s clear this match was in our thoughts.”