Pochettino defends Spurs record despite trophy wait

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino defended his record at the club as their wait for a first trophy under his guidance continues.

Spurs were knocked out of the EFL Cup, the last trophy they won in 2008, in the semi-finals on Thursday, but they remain alive in the FA Cup and Champions League and are in the Premier League title race.

Pochettino said the constant questions had changed despite Spurs’ improvement since he took over in 2014.

“I remember when we arrived here, [people asked], ‘If we don’t play for the Champions League or we don’t achieve the Champions League, how are we going to keep our best players?'” he told UK newspapers.

“Now the question is, ‘If we don’t win a title, how are we going to keep our best players?'”

  “We have a very busy period ahead and that is why we are going to rotate and manage the squad.” #COYS pic.twitter.com/IvkqKny5qO

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) January 25, 2019

Tottenham have also been playing permanently at Wembley since 2017-18, although they are expected to move into their new stadium this season.

Pochettino said his team, who face Crystal Palace in the FA Cup on Sunday, deserved more credit for the way they had performed since leaving White Hart Lane.

“The problem is, at the moment the team needed the last push, what happened in this process, in this club, with this generation of player? We build, we build, we build but then White Hart Lane was gone, we moved to Wembley,” he said.

“All the doubts about how we are going to behave, the example of West Ham first season and many things in this process that stopped the evolution of the team about to win, but no one says anything.

“Remember, we were unbeaten 19 games in the Premier League, at White Hart Lane in our last season there. And no one say what it means to move to Wembley to play and create another project.

“Not only this, but we are going to play only one season and then it’s nearly two seasons and no one says anything.”

Spurs have finished in the top three in the Premier League in the past three seasons and sit third with 15 games to go in this campaign.