Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has insisted that top-four finishes are more important to the club than trophies.
In the past week, Spurs have been knocked out of the League Cup and FA Cup, with the Champions League their only realistic hope of ending their 11-year trophy drought.
Does Pochettino need a trophy at Tottenham? Four key things to know…
- Pochettino took charge of Tottenham in 2014 and has overseen positive progress at the club.
- Spurs are now consistently in the top four and have finished as high as second under the Argentinian’s tutelage.
- The club are yet to win a trophy in his four-and-a-half years, with some believing Pochettino can only be deemed a success if he brings a cup to Tottenham.
- But Pochettino believes winning trophies only builds egos and admitted his happiness in top-four finishes.
Pochettino took charge of Spurs in 2014 and has turned the side into consistent top four finishers, with the work he has put in resulting in links with the likes of Real Madrid and Manchester United.
But the Argentinian has also been the subject of criticism for failing to add a trophy to his improvements, with Spurs reaching just one League Cup final in his tenure – which they lost to Chelsea in 2015.
However, speaking after Tottenham’s FA Cup exit at the hands of Crystal Palace, Pochettino defended his trophy record, claiming success only builds egos.
“Again we’re going to have the debate whether a trophy will take the club to the next level,” he told reporters.
“I don’t agree with it. It only builds your ego. The most important thing for Tottenham right now is to always be in the top four.
“It’s true, this season has been tough. I told you it would be a massive challenge for us, but we believe it’ll be a tough season but no tougher than it’s been.
“Of course, disappointed because, after Thursday and today again, out of two competitions. You feel disappointed. You can’t feel anything different.
“But now we have to be positive. We are still in two competitions, in a good position in the Premier League and the Champions League is a massive motivation for the whole club. We have to be strong.”
Pochettino went on to add that for Spurs to win a trophy, it would require the London side to be lucky, rather than being solely based on the quality of their squad.
He added: “People wish we could win some trophies. But being realistic, we are doing so well. To win a title here is about being lucky, not only about quality in your squad.
“To arrive here in different condition, so you can fight or be stronger… Of course, it’s tougher to compete and win when things happened as they did.
“Sometimes when you assess football, you only look at which team won and which team lost, but you have to consider all the circumstances.”
Klopp is under more pressure to win than Pochettino
While many have criticised manager Pochettino over his lack of trophies at Tottenham, the Spurs boss is not the only Premier League manager under pressure to succeed.
Jurgen Klopp has done a similar, if not more, impressive job turning Liverpool into genuine title contenders while also leading them to three cup finals.
But the Reds are yet to win a trophy under the German and former Brighton midfielder Steve Sidwell recently gave his belief that Klopp needs a title more than Pochettino does.
When asked about who needed a trophy more, Sidwell said: “Klopp all day long. Klopp all day long!
“The money that’s been spent, the amount of time that he’s been there. They’ve got to win a trophy this year. They have to.”
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