Mauricio Pochettino doesn’t think an FA Cup triumph this season would change Tottenham, a club that has little silverware compared to their peers in the Premier League top four.
For a manager considered one of the best in English, if not European football, Pochettino doesn’t have a single piece of silverware to back that up. You’d think the Argentine would be doing his utmost to win all he can to prove those cynical wrong.
Facing him at Wembley is Jose Mourinho, a manager obsessed with winning. The Manchester United manager even considered the Community Shield a triumph last season even though he knew it would spark laugher all around him. Did he care? No, he won.
“It would be fantastic to win the FA Cup,” Pochettino told the Guardian.
“But is it going to change our life? I don’t believe so. Every one of the semi-finalists will fight to win but it’s not about who needs the trophy more.”
Er, what have you won as manager mate?
Pundits have compared Pochettino to Sir Alex Ferguson in the past but he’s not relentless enough when it comes to winning. In fact, he’s some way off.
“If we are capable to win the Premier League and the Champions League, it is a moment you say the team has improved and reached the next level,” Pochettino says, as if Spurs have been winning the FA Cup consecutively.
“To win the FA Cup or the League Cup – it will be fantastic for the fans but it is not going to move the club to a different level.
“This is my opinion. Some people respect it; some people don’t. I want to play to win the Premier League and Champions League. If we can win the FA Cup, then fantastic. But if you are going to change the vision or put the club in a different level, you must compete for and then win the Premier League and Champions League.”
Mourinho won’t admit it but it will eat away at him if United finish the season empty-handed. Maybe Pochettino should be more like the United manager.
What a strange attitude Poch has,they’ve won nothing for years yet he feels able to pick and choose what he wants to win.If that mentality filters down to the players it explains why they win nothing every year.