Pochettino not ´obsessed´ with ending Tottenham trophy wait

Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino insists he is “not obsessed” with ending the club’s long wait to win a trophy.

Spurs have developed into one of the Premier League’s most consistently excellent teams since Pochettino took charge in 2014, although silverware continues to prove elusive.

The last trophy the London club won was the EFL Cup back in 2008 and a failure to claim honours has been one of the main criticisms of the Argentine’s period in charge.

But Pochettino, who won the Argentine Primera Division and Copa del Rey as a player, has denied that he believes securing silverware is essential.

“No, I don’t feel that,” he told a news conference on Tuesday. “Of course we want to win. I know how you feel after winning. Our intention and desire is to win but I am not obsessed.

“We want to win but we need to create a strong team with a strong mentality, a winning mentality. For that, you need time. You never know, in one, two, three or five years.

 @HKane delivers a dressing room speech at Anfield and receives his celebratory @nikefootball boots after his 100th @premierleague goal! #OneOfOurOwn pic.twitter.com/3vZxfJre62

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) February 5, 2018

“We are in a good place, waiting for the new stadium, which will be an amazing thing for us, the fans and the club.

“With the facilities we have to work with, if everything continues in this way then Tottenham will be one of the contenders to win trophies.

“We want to win a trophy because I did it as a player and I know how you feel afterwards.”

Spurs host Newport County on Wednesday after being held to a shock 1-1 draw away to the League Two outfit in last month’s FA Cup fourth-round tie.

With the game at Wembley coming just three days after their 2-2 league draw with Liverpool at Anfield, and three days before the north London derby with Arsenal, Pochettino confirmed he will give some players a rest.

“Yes, we are going to rotate the team, for sure,” he said. “I cannot say now like always but, yes, we need to rotate and use players that haven’t played in the Premier League.

“The FA Cup is important for us but we will rotate because we trust in all the players because all the players deserve to compete and to play.

“If we cannot win, it’s because something wrong happened and maybe at the end of the season we need to take a decision. You cannot say we don’t take [the FA Cup] seriously because we rotate.”