Spurs will not underestimate Ajax but Pochettino is ‘so optimistic’ of reaching the final

Tottenham Hotspur made history last night by reaching their first ever Champions League semi final, and no one was more thrilled than Pochettino himself.

Any fan who has seen the touchline celebrations and the roars from the Argentine back in the changing room knows exactly how passionate he is about the club and the competition.

Spurs now have two weeks or so to prepare for their semi-final first leg against Ajax, with many Tottenham players coming up against their old team.

Christian Eriksen, Davinson Sanchez, Toby Alderweireld, and Jan Vertonghen all spent spells at the club in their youth, and will certainly not underestimate them.

Ajax’s young and vibrant squad has already knocked out Real Madrid and Juventus, and Pochettino will be determined not to make the same mistakes as those two titans.

He believes that Ajax are potentially favourites for the tie, but Spurs are optimistic of progressing one step further to the final.

He said (Football London): “Now we need to be for sure humble because of course beating City, nobody expected that, can give massive belief. But in the same way if you are not clever enough to manage in the good way you can make a mistake – that victory can make you weaker. It is so important to respect Ajax; they beat Real Madrid and Juventus so are more favourite than us – that is a reality – but if they are not bigger favourites than us they are the same level for sure so so important to respect them. It is a semi-final, the most important thing is how we approach the semi-final and how we play the game. Hopefully all players arrive there fit to have different options there to decide a plan and strategy to play them. We are so optimistic.”

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