Mauricio Pochettino has said that the focus at Tottenham Hotspur was always on finishing in the top four rather than competing for honours as the club needed the extra revenue from the Champions League.
Spurs finished in the top four in four of Pochettino’s five full seasons in charge in North London, with the club coming close to lifting major honours, including the Premier League title and the Champions League.
However, the Lilywhites did not quite manage to cross the line and win silverware, which is perhaps the one regret that the Argentine will have about his spell in N17.
In a quest to win the Champions League and the Premier League, Pochettino was sometimes guilty of overlooking cup competitions, with the 51-year-old once even insisting that the FA Cup and Carabao Cup are only good for ‘building ego’ (Sky Sports).
The former Tottenham manager, who is yet to win any silverware in English football, now has a golden chance to break his drought after Chelsea advanced to the Carabao Cup final on Tuesday.
Daniel Levy wanted Champions League above all else
The Blues boss has now suggested that the focus at Spurs was different to what it is at Chelsea, with Daniel Levy prioritising a top-four finish.
He said (via Dan Kilpatrick) about his lack of silverware at Tottenham: “We put everything to try to play CL because it was…the way to help the club achieve the objectives the club wanted: to build a new stadium… Of course, we prioritised the Champions League with the club, with Daniel.”
Spurs Web Opinion
What Pochettino said here is partially true as Champions League revenue was crucial to the club at a time when they were building the most expensive stadium in football history. However, the reality is that Poch was focused on winning the bigger prizes and slightly neglected the Carabao Cup (and sometimes the FA Cup) as a result.