According to Reuters Mauricio Pochettino has hailed the “massive achievement” of his Spurs side in reaching the Champions League for the third straight season despite being on unfamiliar soil.
We will have played “38 away games” by the end of the campaign, and the Argentine tactician told reporters, after a 1-0 win over Newcastle United at Wembley.
“It was a real quality season for the group to achieve the top four — a massive achievement,”:he said after Harry Kane’s second-half goal secured the three points that took Spurs up to third and clear of Chelsea in fifth.
The win means we will finish the season as the top London club for the first time since the 1994-95 campaign, a statistic Pochettino was happy to highlight at the post-match news conference.
Many critics will argue that winning silverware is what the game is all about however the article adds that we are making progress under Pochettino and finishing above Chelsea and Arsenal is no mean feat given the tight wage structure at the north London club.
The article goes on to add that the importance of Champions League football and the money it brings cannot be overstated given the rising costs of our new 62,000 seat stadium.
It adds that financing the stadium and developing a team that can compete for major honours is a tricky balancing act with our north London rivals Arsenal under departing manager Arsene Wenger being a prime example of a club that has struggled to achieve it.
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“For the club it’s a massive thing to move into the new stadium and play in the Champions League,”:said Pochettino.
He added: “It will be another massive challenge (at the new stadium) — the same as playing at Wembley. (But) this group of players now have the experience to make the new stadium feel like home.
He went on to say: “Thirty eight games away for home. Maybe people didn’t realise it was so tough for the players and for the staff and for the fans… to move from White Hart Lane to Wembley. To achieve the top four in that condition despite many things that happened during the season — if you’re not strong — mentally and physically — and you don’t show passion, it’s difficult to achieve what we have achieved today.”
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