Mauricio Pochettino Pleased with Tottenham’s Effort After Difficult Week
The season is starting to become difficult and this past week has shown that after Tottenham picked up three straight draws.
Yesterday afternoon, Bourenmouth would welcome Tottenham back to the Vitality Stadium after suffering a big 5-1 defeat a year ago. That game last October would be a reminder that teams improve and no match tends to be the same.
It’s something that Mauricio Pochettino was wary of in his pre-match press conference on Friday and he would be proven correct after a difficult 90 minutes of back and forth action.
“We spoke about the game beforehand and it was how we expected it to be against an energetic team,” Pochettino said after Spurs earned their third consecutive draw in as many games (via Tottenham’s official website).
“It was tough for us at the start of the game because they pushed us a lot, but we conceded only one chance and Hugo [Lloris] was fantastic again.”
“After 15, 20 minutes we handled the game and in the second half, we were much, much better.”
“I’m pleased with the effort because after three games [in a week] it was difficult, mentally and physically, but the team showed again they are tough and there are lots of positives to take.”
That difficult week that Mauricio Pochettino is referring to is three straight road matches to The Hawthorns (West Brom), the BayArena (Bayer Leverkusen) and finally the Vitality Stadium (Bournemouth).
Although this could be taken as an excuse, playing on the road and traveling to Germany and back, then to the West Midlands and south coast is a lot of miles in seven days. There’s not enough rest when the team has to get in at least a practice day or two before playing three big games.
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With the Premier League Spurs’ main priority this year, Pochettino would always select his strongest lineup that is available to him. Adding it all up, this could explain the team’s goalless draw against Bournemouth. The first such game where Tottenham were held to zero goals in the Premiership.
Of course, the season won’t get any easier with Tuesday’s fourth round tie in the League Cup at Anfield, when Spurs face Liverpool on the road — the fourth away match in as many games (thanks to the schedule makers).
Still, with the results not going in Pochettino’s favor, he did mention positives to take from a difficult week. One major takeaway that he was pleased with would be his team’s defense.
The offense couldn’t get going once again even though they were creating chances, even if they were limited opportunities. Having a consistent defense that can maintain clean sheets will go a long way this season.
“Our defensive record is very good but with the way we defend and don’t concede chances or goals, it’s important to score and to win,” Mauricio Pochettino said.
“I’m disappointed because we created chances and had possibilities to score.”
“I feel pleased with another big effort and now we keep going because we have another big game on Tuesday.”
Next: Eriksen and Lloris Discuss Tottenham's Draw with Bournemouth
Competing in both the Premier League and Champions League has taken its toll due to injuries and not much rotation happening. With the League Cup coming up and the FA Cup a couple of months away, things will get even more difficult.
Harry Kane and Toby Alderweireld will return soon which will boost both sides of the field for Spurs but if teams plan accordingly by playing compact and high-pressing or hunkering down to defend, it will be tough to get wins.