Pochettino on Real Madrid snub, Spurs exit and whether Levy should have given him more support

Mauricio Pochettino has admitted that he made mistakes at Tottenham but also insisted that he expected a little more support from the club to turn things around.

Tottenham were transformed as a club both on and off the pitch during Pochettino’s five and a half year stint in North London.

Not only did the Argentine help the club challenge for major honours, but he also established them as a regular in the Premier League top four.

He managed to achieve this despite the club having to play almost two full seasons at Wembley while the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was being built.

Few would have expected that Pochettino would be sacked by the club, just months after leading Spurs to the first Champions League final in their history.

However, following the team’s continued struggles at the start of the season, the club decided to replace the former Southampton boss with Jose Mourinho.

Pochettino hinted that there were disagreements between the coaching staff and the club hierarchy on the path forward towards the end of his time at Spurs.

In an interview with El Pais, the former Tottenham manager said: “We live in a results environment where it seems that all the things that have a good result are the ones that serve.

“But … how do you measure what works or not? Only the one who wins or the one who exceeds expectations? After the Champions League final, four years in the top four, two years without signing …, a different management strategy was needed.

“Sometimes the vision of a coaching staff is not accepted by the club management. We anticipate what could happen. You need to fall, be down and then go up. But Tottenham made the decision to separate us after five and a half years. I understand that it is a long time.”

Pochettino also admitted that he expected more support from the board when things were not going according to plan on the pitch.

When asked if he regretted turning down Real Madrid’s offer while he was in charge of Tottenham, the 48-year-old said: “I was happy at Tottenham and I signed a contract. And we finished very well, the relationship is impeccable.

“I always say, without false humility, that we too have made mistakes that have led to what happened.

“Although we did expect a little more support or reassurance to reverse the situation. But the club line was going another way and there was wear; respite was needed from both sides.”

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There were many hints right from the end of last season that all was not well behind the scenes at the club. Pochettino made some rather bizarre assertions to the media, including suggesting before the CL final that he could leave the club if we won the final.

There were also many reports that Pochettino’s relationship with the players was not great towards the end, with the Argentine often not even overseeing training sessions. Based on the way some players now speak about Mourinho, it is clear that their relationship with Poch had soured.

While the jury is still out on whether Mourinho was the right appointment for Tottenham to go for, it did appear as if both Pochettino and Spurs needed a change after five and a half years as things had got stale.

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