Pochettino keen to avoid 'Spursy' setback against Crystal Palace

After Wednesday’s triumph over Real Madrid secured their place in the last 16 of the Champions League, Tottenham now have a key opportunity to improve their position in the Premier League title race.

The other four teams in the top five places all go head to head on Sunday, with Manchester City hosting Arsenal and Chelsea entertaining Manchester United. Meanwhile, Spurs have a home game against basement boys Crystal Palace.

Mauricio Pochettino stated on Friday that the clash with Roy Hodgson’s Eagles “has the same value as the Real Madrid game” – and if anything he is underselling it, given Spurs were already well-placed in their Champions League group before Wednesday’s showdown.

While overcoming the reigning European champions has enhanced the club’s global reputation in a way that beating Palace never could, the three points on offer on Sunday are probably more significant than the ones the Lilywhites secured in Group H. After all, they have qualified on the continent with two games to spare.

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The opportunity this weekend is obvious – and so is the danger. Spurs beat Borussia Dortmund 3-1 at Wembley in September but, three days later, they were held to a goalless draw by Swansea on the same pitch.

Tottenham fans have their own term ready if history repeats itself: “Spursy” – the ability to beat Real Madrid and then drop points against Crystal Palace in the same week.

It is a word Pochettino is aware of, but his impression is it is being used less and less frequently. Sunday’s London derby will certainly be another important test of his squad’s consistency and attitude.
“To be honest I have heard of the term a few times,” said Tottenham’s manager. “I heard people say we are not that any more.
“All the people who follow and love Tottenham and feel disappointed for the history of the club, we try to work and change those things. We were very realistic when we arrived in our assessment and it’s about trying to create a project, an idea, and change that mentality.

“When we came here and the Premier League fixtures were announced, people were not excited. It was ‘wow, we are starting the season against West Ham’ – because Tottenham had lost to them three times in the season before – ‘and then Harry Redknapp is coming to White Hart Lane [with QPR]’.

“My face was like the emoticon with the wide eyes. We are Tottenham, come on! In that moment we started to feel we had to work hard to change that perception and say ‘why? We are Tottenham. We must be there and must feel we can smash everyone’, and not care if it’s West Ham or QPR with Harry Redknapp. We won and we won, remember? It was afterwards that we started to go down!”

Pochettino is therefore bullish about his intention to overcome Palace, even if there are going to be changes to the line-up that beat Madrid.

“It’s not sure if we’re going to play with the same team, we are sure we are going to succeed against Crystal Palace,” he said. “It’s difficult to recover from that emotional day because it’s not only physical but emotional.

“It’s clear Hugo [Lloris] and Toby [Alderweireld] are not going to play, but maybe we have some other players that need to rest because it’s a big risk. It’s not only a big risk but maybe they cannot perform like they performed on Wednesday. That decision is so complicated.”

Tottenham’s victory over Real Madrid could also cause longer-term complications for Pochettino and chairman Daniel Levy – if Spurs’ star players were attracting interest before, this latest achievement will only have increased their desirability, while potentially giving the men in question new ideas about their worth.

So, since improved contracts were handed out to a host of players last year, are there plans to do so again soon?

“The chairman is working but we must understand there are always two parts,” said Pochettino. “Daniel is working hard to make happy everyone – also us!

“You know Daniel, he never stops thinking and working. I congratulate him because he has just received the award for the CEO of the Year [at the Football Business Awards]. I want to congratulate him.”

Levy certainly deserves praise for his role in Tottenham’s rise and, regardless of what happens on the pitch on Sunday and even at the end of this season in terms of silverware, Pochettino feels the club is moving in the right direction.

“For Tottenham, winning today is maybe not the same as other clubs,” he said. “For the last three and a half seasons, we are winning, for different reasons.

“We are winning because we built one of the most fantastic training grounds. It’s still not finished as the hotel isn’t finished yet and maybe there are some more projects that we haven’t started, but I think they are going.

“That is winning, and winning is building a massive, fantastic stadium – one of the best stadiums in Europe.

“In my first press conference the objective was to reduce the gap with the top four. In the third season we not only fought for the Premier League, we finished second and after 22 years we finished above Arsenal.

“Manchester United with [Sir Alex] Ferguson spent six years, and in year seven they won the title. With the project we have here and the philosophy, when you compare with the other teams that compete with us, for me it’s a very successful period.

“[Some might say] if we don’t win a title maybe it’s not a successful period. But for me, I repeat, for Tottenham to win a title it is to win the Champions League or the Premier League.

“The other cups, of course, I would like to win but it’s more about luck because it depends on the draw, on many things – and there are a lot of examples where it is not success to win a title.

“Look at Leicester. [Claudio] Ranieri won the title for Leicester and was sacked after a few months. I think we are in a different project.

“I feel I am a winner and of course I want to win a title. At the moment we are working hard and giving our best to try to achieve that – but there are many things happening in the club and this project where we feel that we are winning.”

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