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Vertonghen and Pochettino on collision course after latest comments, Spurs boss is wrong
COMMENT
Tottenham have a huge game coming up on Saturday, with a real chance of silverware on offer, but Jan Vertonghen and Mauricio Pochettino have entirely contrasting views on it.
They play Man United in the semi-finals of the FA Cup but manager Mauricio Pochettino doesn’t seem that interested.
He was quoted in the Independent as saying, “It’s the FA Cup semi-final. If you go through and win the FA Cup you’re not going to play Champions League next season, only if you finish fourth [in the Premier League].
“Of course that’s up to us. It’s important to focus on the games, every single game until the end. We have to win every single game if we want to do something important.”
This echoes comments he made earlier in the season when he said he wanted to win a major trophy with Spurs, the Premier League or the Champions League.
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That’s all well and good but that’s easier said than done, and Tottenham came nowhere near either this season.
Spurs centre-back Jan Vertonghen has a different view on things.
Talking after the Brighton game he said, “Everyone always says ‘what do you need to win trophies?’.
“But when I won my first, the next couple followed at a very quick tempo. You just need that belief you can do it and then they will come. We’re full of confidence that we can.”
It’s not hard to side with Vertonghen here.
His point is that winning breeds a winner’s mentality, and he sees the FA Cup as hugely important for the progression of Tottenham.
Pochettino seems to see it more as an inconvenience, a match that’s getting in the way of his true project – another shot at the Champions League next season.
Of course Tottenham fans would love to win a “major”, but perhaps they need to win a “minor” first and then set their sights a little higher?
In other Tottenham news, Levy abandons hope of deal for 6ft 1in rock but Poch already has Tottenham Plan B
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