Pochettino admits his side are unprepared for Dortmund clash

Tottenham Hotspur take on Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League tomorrow night, with both teams fighting to put their name in the pot for the quarter-finals.

This would equal Tottenham’s best ever run in the competition, last achieved under Harry Redknapp with the likes of Gareth Bale, Luka Modric, and Rafa Van Der Vaart.

Spurs head into the tie three goals to the good after running riot in the second half of their home leg with goals from Sonny, Vertonghen, and Llorente.

However, much like the first leg, Tottenham come into this game having had 24 fewer hours of preparation and recovery than their opponents.

For each leg, Borussia Dortmund have been given an extra day to prepare, and it is safe to say that Pochettino is not happy with the scheduling.

He also claims that he has had no time to prepare for the crucial Champions League game after having the North London Derby on Saturday.

He said (Football London): “There’s no time. Of course Dortmund in the first leg they had more time to prepare the game and now the same because they played Friday, then Saturday, Sunday, today, we play Tuesday. We played Saturday and the only way we can prepare is talking and not talking too much because the players need to rest, need to recover after a very tough game.

“We played a derby against Arsenal and you know what it means to play a derby, not only in the physical condition, the energy that you spend, mental too. I need to describe the situation. I don’t understand again, to arrive not in the same situation both clubs going to compete for a massive and so important competition like the Champions League.

“Both teams play Saturday, I understand, both teams play Friday, I am not complaining or am not justifying. It is not the same, it is not the same to have 24 hours more or less to prepare for the game. We must prioritise different things and we cannot work on the pitch.

“It’s strange for me that no one has said anything about that, because the first leg was the same. Of course we are going to fight and give our best. It’s impossible in this type of game, last 16, how important the game is, that one team had 24 hours more than the other to prepare. I think it is massive.”

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