Mauricio Pochettino: Tottenham Showed the Right Attitude
Tottenham returned to winning ways after a dominating effort in dispatching Fulham 3-0 in the FA Cup’s fifth round at Craven Cottage.
Mauricio Pochettino knew that with two straight defeats, he couldn’t allow a third consecutive loss to take place.
With a trip to the FA Cup’s quarter-finals on the line, and a chance to challenge for a trophy by the end of the year, Pochettino needed to select a strong starting XI to ensure their passage into the next round.
Yesterday’s 3-0 win over London rivals, Fulham, is the kind of game that this Spurs side has been missing in quite some time. At least for a month since a 4-0 thrashing of West Brom on January 14th at White Hart Lane.
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“We took the game with the right attitude, were very focused and tried to show our quality and fight,” Mauricio Pochettino said.
“I’m very happy to return to that [winning] feeling after two defeats, that was important for us and a big boost of confidence ahead of Thursday [the second leg against KAA Gent]. That was very important for us.”
It was evident from the start that Spurs decided to be proactive in their approach to yesterday’s FA Cup tie with Fulham. They would not allow the Cottagers to set the pace early and dictate how the game would be played.
Not like what Tottenham did against Manchester City, Liverpool and Gent.
Three fixtures in which Spurs went behind before securing a draw against the Citizens, but losing to the Reds and Gent last week.
A fast start from Spurs paid off with Harry Kane getting on the board in the 16th minute following a quick throw-in from Kieran Trippier, releasing Christian Eriksen down the left flank before sending in a good cross that Kane would toe poke home with a sliding effort.
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From there, the visitors continued to apply more pressure. Another goal wouldn’t happen until the second half but this looked like a game that Spurs wouldn’t lose if they kept their momentum and levels up.
In the end, Harry Kane’s hat-trick would be the deciding factor as Tottenham won 3-0 and advanec into the FA Cup quarter-finals, where they will host Millwall at White Hart Lane.
When asked what was the difference in beating Fulham, that was missing in Spurs’ previous two games, Pochettino conceded that it was simply conducting meetings on the training ground and working out some kinks.
“We had some meetings at the training ground to try to find why and try to recover the feeling,” Mauricio Pochettino explained. “It was very important and I’m very pleased because the reaction was good.”
“We played against a very good team, difficult opponents in the FA Cup and showed we can cope and fight. The reaction was fantastic.”
The major difference of course was the quick start, something that the Argentine manager agreed with. And when everything is going right, Spurs should come out on top.
“Yes, after Liverpool and Gent we were all disappointed with how we started. This was completely different and that is all about spirit, the team, quality, all those things were there today and that shows the character and the quality to recover in the right way.”
Next: A Much Needed Win for Tottenham Following Tough Week
Leading up to Gent this Thursday at Wembley, Tottenham must be able to repeat Sunday’s performance if they wish to return to the Europa League’s Round of 16.
Hopefully this time around, Spurs take it seriously and not rotate like they did against Borussia Dortmund when it was obvious that the Premier League mattered more based on their league standing at the time last season.