Pochettino Dismisses Talk of Spurs Exit
By Ryan Wrenn
Despite being linked with a switch earlier in the week, Spurs coach Mauricio Pochettino has emphatically denied any interest in the Chelsea job
It’s fair to call the reigning Premier League champions’ season something close to disastrous at this point. Though results have improved since club ownership let coach José Mourinho go and appointed veteran manager Guus Hiddink on an interim basis, the Blues are still virtually guaranteed to miss a chance to make it back into Europe, and might even find it difficult to finish in the top half of the Premier League table.
As is typical with such mega-rich clubs as Chelsea, Manchester United and Real Madrid, speculation began immediately about who would take over on a permanent basis at the end of the season. With previous free agents Jürgen Klopp, Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti all already locked into – or soon to be locked into – new deals with new clubs, the Chelsea manager rumor mill has been redirected at managers who are already firmly established in coaching jobs.
Though it seems the center of attention has not drifted toward former Juventus/current Italy national team coach Antionion Conte, the Spurs coach has also been mentioned as Mourinho’s successor at the club.
This isn’t the first time Pochettino has been rumored to be among the candidates for football’s biggest coaching jobs. Vacancies – impending or real – at Manchester United and Real Madrid dialed up the volume on those rumors, though never have any risen to any level higher than mere speculation.
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Pochettino, to his immense credit, has always denied being interested in jobs elsewhere, and made that especially clear about these most recent Chelsea rumors.
“It’s the same with any rumors about players,” the Argentine coach began. “There’s a lot of names in the media now. My focus is here, to try for success at Tottenham and to work hard.”
Beyond such concepts as work ethic and loyalty, there’s an underlying aspect of Pochettino’s methods that might make it difficult to pick up and leave whenever a better offer comes in.
What he’s accomplished as Spurs and what he will accomplish in the future are the the result of a great deal of time and effort. The type of patience needed for clubs to see Pochettino’s methods bear fruit is, frankly, almost unheard of. Even Spurs chairman Daniel Levy has had to reform his tendency to pull the trigger on under-performing coaches. There’s no guarantee that other clubs’ chairmen would be nearly as willing to able to hold back should results not come immediately.
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Moreover, the authority that Pochettino has managed to carve out for himself at Spurs is becoming increasingly rare among managers anywhere in Europe. He has the final say in transfers both into and out of the club, and together with Spurs’ Head of Recruitment Paul Mitchell and Head of Player Development John McDermott has begun to dramatically alter how the club locates and molds its players.
“I always work for the present and the future,” Pochettino continued. “I’m very happy here.
“We’ve created after 18 months a very good group, with a strong basis for success in the future and I’m very happy. My job is to be focused, not to hear rumors.
“The most important thing is that I’m focused on my job.”