Mauricio Pochettino Analyzes Tottenham’s Season So Far
A day before Tottenham Hotspur takes on Arsenal in the north London derby at the Emirates Stadium, Mauricio Pochettino discussed how his team’s season has been going so far.
Speaking to the media (transcript provided by The Guardian) Mauricio Pochettino discussed how far his Tottenham side, who are currently sitting in fifth place and one point behind Manchester United, could go this season. To the Argentine manager, there is no limit for his young squad this season but he made sure to temper expectations.
“It’s too far to the end of the season,” Pochettino said. “We want to be at the top of the table but please don’t misunderstand me – we have to work a lot and improve a lot. It’s impossible to set a limit. We have a very young squad and we never set a limit.”
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The goal for this season is to finish inside the top four and return the Club to the Champions League, a competition that Tottenham has not graced since the 2010-2011 season. Of course, that has always been the goal for the past four seasons after last competing in Europe’s elite tournament. But with last season’s close finish (fifth place and six points from fourth) and the way the 2015-16 Premier League is shaping up, with Chelsea and Liverpool outside of the top ten for the time being, all bets are currently off.
While it could be argued that a possible top four finish for Tottenham will be because of Chelsea and Liverpool’s starts to this season. That thinking doesn’t factor in Spurs’ current 10-game unbeaten streak which started after dropping the season opener to Manchester United at Old Trafford. One reason for the team’s ability to maintain their unbeaten streak is due to the players’ improvement in — as The Guardian puts it — “Mauricio Pochettino’s strenuous regime, in which strong emphasis is placed on fitness.”.
“It’s not because we have a young squad. It’s because of the way we are training, our sports science and our medical staff,” Pochettino said. “When you push the players every day, sometimes double sessions, it is very hard for them to suffer in the way that we push them. You can be proud of how they recovered [for Anderlecht]. It is not a miracle, they work hard from the beginning of the season.”
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Being fit to play in Pochettino’s offense is not something to take lightly. Last season, the players started off well but tailed off after a 3-0 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford. Granted, a lack of depth and rotation didn’t help matters but this is no longer an issue this season.
Speaking of fitness levels, Tottenham will head to the Emirates Stadium and face an injured Arsenal side who will be missing nearly 10 players. However the Gunners had an extra day of rest, so that has to count as an advantage for them.
“It is true that our opponents have an advantage because they have one day more to prepare and recover but we cannot complain and we need to be ready,” the 46-year-old Argentine manager said. “We need to be strong in our minds and try to win the game because we know what the derby means.”
Harry Kane and Dele Alli also talked about Arsenal (quotes provided by the Mirror).
Harry Kane:
“They have come off a bit of a battering midweek (5-1 at Bayern Munich) so will be wanting to change that and we are coming off two big and great wins so we will be full of energy and tempo.”
“It’s going to be a great spectacle but we know we have got enough to get a win.”
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Dele Alli:
“We’re really positive going into the (Arsenal) game. These are the games you dream of playing in. It is one of the biggest games in the world, I think.”
“We know how much it means, not only to us but the fans as well so we want to go there and get the three points.”