Tottenham boss Pochettino not ‘obsessed’ with winning silverware

Wednesday, 7 February 2018 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino said he was not obsessed with the idea of winning a trophy as he prepares his side for Wednesday’s FA Cup fourth round replay at Wembley against Newport County.

Spurs have not won the top-flight since 1961 and their last trophy was the 2008 League Cup.

Under Pochettino, Spurs have challenged for the Premier League title for the last two seasons, finishing second behind Chelsea last term.

The Argentine also led Spurs to 2015 League Cup final, where they were defeated by Chelsea, but he believes the team needs more time to forge a winning mentality.

When asked at a news conference if he needed to deliver a trophy to measure his success at Spurs, Pochettino replied: ”No, I don’t feel that. Of course, the intention and desire is to win but I am not obsessed to win, win, win, win. We need a strong team and a winning mentality. ”For that you need time. You never know, in one, two, three or five years. We are in a good place, waiting for the new stadium, which will be an amazing thing or us, the fans and the club.

“With the facilities we have to work with, if everything continues in this way then Tottenham will be one of the contenders to win trophies. We want to win a trophy because I did it as a player and I know how you feel afterwards.”

Pochettino named first-team regulars Harry Kane, Jan Vertonghen and Mousa Dembele for the 1-1 draw against Newport County last month but is expected to field a weakened side at Wembley with one eye on Saturday’s derby against Arsenal in the league.

But the manager has defended his rotation policy, denying that Tottenham would underestimate the threat posed by their League Two (fourth-tier) opponents.

”We are a team that respects everyone,“ he said. ”For us, all the competitions are important. I‘m tired of explaining, but football is about 24-25 players, it is about quality of effort.

“For me, it is the same whether it is Newport or another Premier League team. We take the competition very seriously, and of course we are going to put our best starting 11 to try to win the game.”