According to Football.London, Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has revealed which goal he believes saved him from the sack at Spurs in his debut season at the club.
Tottenham’s 2014-15 Premier League campaign did not get off to the best of starts despite the re-haul in management, with Mauricio Pochettino having been brought in as manager over the Summer.
Spurs won just 3 of their opening 9 games, losing matches against Liverpool, West Brom, Manchester City and Newcastle United with three of those defeats coming on home turf.
Given how little time struggling Premier League manager’s are often given to turn things around, Pochettino himself admitted that he could sense the Spurs hierarchy losing patience with his leadership.
However, the popular Argentine did also explain that he reckons Harry Kane’s last minute winner at Aston Villa saved his bacon at White Hart Lane.
“Maybe I can find many other goals that were fantastic,” Pochettino said, as quoted by Football.London. “But for me goals are related to emotion in the period you are living.”
“For me that goal was an amazing goal because it meant for us, for everyone, the possibility to stay here today.”
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“It’s true, we were a little bit under pressure because the team played well, but did not win games and we were a bit under pressure.”
“Always in football, when you don’t get good results, the first to be sacked is the manager.”
Sitting 11th in the league table, Tottenham traveled to Villa Park in early November and found themselves a goal down before 20 minutes were on the clock.
In the 84th minute, Belgian winger Nacer Chadli leveled the score for Spurs against ten-man Aston Villa with the match slowly petering-out into what most would have expected to be a draw.
However, with the score locked at 1-1, substitute forward Harry Kane stepped up to take a last minute free-kick, which was deflected into the back of the net, sparking mass celebrations from the away stands as well as Pochettino’s dugout.
For weeks Spurs fans had been crying out for the young striker to get more Premier League minutes, having been in flying form in the Europa League.
The goal was Kane’s first of a further 20 Premier League strikes in a breakthrough season in which the Englishman netted over 30 times in all competitions.
“That goal allowed us to carry on working and try to change the club.” He added.
“We were in the first season at Tottenham and on day one when I signed the contract I said ‘ok maybe in a few months we have a new face in front of us’.”
Pochettino then heaped praise on the two-time golden boot winner, highlighting the 24 year old’s ‘hunger’ as a key factor in Kane’s goal-scoring prowess.
“I showed the team the first goal that he scored at 2-1 against Dortmund,” He confessed. “How he fought with two defensive players and then how he scored.”
“I think because only he is so fit he can do this. He is so hungry to score and help the team.”
“That is the most important thing today. It is our responsibility to translate and inspire to them not to lose their hunger.”
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