Mauricio Pochettino shows Tottenham’s small-club mentality.
Ex-Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino has truly shown the small-club mentality of his former employers as he discusses his achievements at Spurs.
Arsenal and Tottenham have a long and historic rivalry, so it perhaps makes sense that Pochettino felt the need to take a little dig at us in this interview, but it’s far more embarrassing for him and them than it is for us.
The Argentine, whilst a fine manager, did not manage to win any trophies during his time in charge of our north London rivals, but says he counts finishing above us in the table a few times as success.
Speaking on the In The Pink podcast, via Sky Sports, he said: “To play in the Champions League for three or four years and finish above Arsenal many times was a great legacy for us. To win a title would be a great reward but for us that is the legacy, to have the club and the stadium at Tottenham. That is more than winning titles.”
Before Pochettino, it had been 22 years since Spurs finished above Arsenal in the league, but even during this relatively lean period for us, we at least managed two FA Cup final victories during the course of Pochettino’s Spurs reign.
Arsene Wenger was often mocked for describing Champions League qualification as the equivalent of winning a trophy – we wonder if Pochettino will get the same treatment for this…?