Spurs’ Pochettino: Man City ‘important, but not decisive’
With Spurs traveling to the Etihad Stadium to take on Manchester City, Tottenham can’t afford to drop points. But if they do, Mauricio Pochettino insists it’s just another game.
Coming away with anything less than three points against a team like Manchester City who has let games slip by them this season since September would be damaging for Spurs’ chances at closing a five-point gap to league leaders Leicester.
After all, losing 1-0 at home against the Foxes already cost Tottenham three points. When you add in the 1-1 draw back in August, six points were dropped. So hearing Mauricio Pochettino say that Sunday’s fixture against Manchester City is important but not decisive is interesting to say the least.
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“For me every game is important because to arrive in the end, to improve our position, you need to win games. But it is not a decisive game. There are 12 left and it’s the most important in the league,” said Pochettino.
This kind of thinking — looking at the big picture — is the right mentality to have despite the magnitude of Spurs potentially being one point behind Leicester if Claudio Ranieri’s team lose to Arsenal. Or two points behind the Foxes if they draw with the Gunners.
However, losing this game, or even drawing shouldn’t be looked at as a bad thing which is where Pochettino is trying to get at.
Imagine a situation where Tottenham don’t get a win, and this latest loss ultimately sends Spurs into a downward spiral of bad form and more losses. Dropping one game isn’t the end-all be-all for Spurs’ season. There will still be 12 games remaining which the Argentine manager was quick to point out.
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Putting all of Tottenham’s eggs in one basket wouldn’t be a good idea. In fact it would be ill advised to focus on Manchester City but not the remaining fixtures that will follow this upcoming match on Sunday.
This is the main reason why Pochettino believes facing the Citizens isn’t a decisive game where others actually believe it is.
That being said, while the pressure is on for Mauricio Pochettino to get another win, he’s enjoying this moment right now. Where his Tottenham side are second in the Premier League and will look to continue their progress this season in hopes of claiming a top four spot and a Premier League title.
“Maybe, this is the most enjoyable time I have had as a manager, if I am honest. My philosophy is that I try to be better every day. It’s not always possible, but we try,” Mauricio Pochettino added.
“We try this week to work very hard and be focused because I think the process – how we build from the back and play in the opposition half we are happy with – but we need to be more clinical when we create a lot of chance. Sometimes we have luck, sometimes not. But we have to work hard to improve.”
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Whatever happens in this final meeting between Spurs and Manchester City in the Premier League, it’s obvious that a win would be the best possible outcome. But, a draw shouldn’t be criticized because there are still 12 more games remaining to claim three points and then some.
Now if Mauricio Pochettino says that Man City are an important but not decisive game, then it’s best to support him seeing as how he’s gotten plenty of things right so far this season. Panic will only ensue if Spurs’ title hopes are damaged by a sudden drop in form for the remainder of this league campaign.
And right now, that hasn’t happened yet.