‘We were so close’ – Pochettino opens up on his lingering feelings for Tottenham Hotspur

Mauricio Pochettino has risked the ire of Chelsea fans by admitting that Tottenham Hotspur will always hold a special place in his heart.

During his five and a half years at Tottenham, Pochettino forged a special relationship with the Spurs fans, who regularly sang his name from the terraces.

The Argentine transformed the team into title contenders and even took the club one step short of European glory but the Lilywhites did not manage to cross the line and get their hands on silverware.

Pochettino lost his job after a poor start to the 2019-20 season and Tottenham floundered for several years after his departure, with Jose Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Santo and Antonio Conte failing to have the expected impact at the club.

However, the club finally seem to have struck gold with Ange Postecoglou, who has quickly become a fan favourite since arriving at the club, with the Australian delivering the kind of football Tottenham fans have craved since the Pochettino era.

Tottenham still means a lot to Mauricio Pochettino

As one would expect, the relationship between the Spurs fans and the Argentine coach has suffered since the 51-year-old took over at London rivals Chelsea last summer.

Pochettino is now coming under a lot of pressure at Stamford Bridge, with the club struggling to string decent results together.

At the risk of potentially antagonising the Chelsea supporters further, the former Tottenham manager has now spoken about his sadness at not being able to deliver a trophy at N17.

When asked if he has any regrets over his time at Spurs, Pochettino responded (via TNT Sports): “It is difficult to talk now, because it is always going to be a special club for me. I need to repeat that I left the club because I was sacked.

“We achieved things, we were so close but missed the last step. That was a shame and sad because we wanted to win. We wanted to deliver it for the fans and lift the trophy. It is a club that has one of the best facilities, with the training ground and stadium. It can achieve what they want.”

Spurs Web Opinion

I am in the minority of Spurs fans who do not hold it against Pochettino for joining Chelsea, particularly given that Tottenham did not contact him about their managerial vacancy last summer.

However, it is not very wise of the Argentine to keep talking in positive terms about Spurs and his affection for the club at a time when Chelsea fans are already questioning the job he is doing.

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