LONDON – Mauricio Pochettino has warned his Tottenham players that a fourth-place finish in the Premier League won’t satisfy him this season.
Last Saturday’s 4-1 thrashing at Manchester City saw Spurs slip to seventh in the table, and making the top four to secure another shot at the Champions League won’t be easy.
But asked whether he would accept a fourth-place finish if he was offered it now, Pochettino was emphatic. “Would I take that? No! Do I want higher than that? Yes, of course!”
And Pochettino vowed that Spurs’ mauling at the hands of Pep Guardiola’s champions-elect would not change his approach.
“I am not a comfortable person, I love to take a risk,” he said.
“I am here because I love to take a risk. I feel I am a winner but sometimes the winners lose and they have to lose to feel the pain. City was a massive game from which to learn and try to improve. There are a lot of positives. The emotion was not so good, but after a few days the feeling becomes how to learn. The team have moved on.”
Spurs are 21 points behind City and 10 points adrift of second-placed Manchester United. They sit a place below tomorrow’s opponents Burnley, but the top four is just three points away.
And midfielder Victor Wanyama should be back shortly to boost Spurs after four months out with a knee injury. Pochettino said: “We have missed him. He is such an important player for us and it will be fantastic if he can be involved again soon.”