The Argentine admitted his old side’s change of home came at the wrong time, just as his squad could have moved to another level
Mauricio Pochettino says Tottenham missed an opportunity to take their squad to the next level when they built their new stadium – but he is hopeful Jose Mourinho can lift a trophy at his old club.
Pochettino believes the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is now one of the best arenas in Europe, but he rued the effect the move had on both his squad and his transfer budget.
Spurs were temporarily re-homed at Wembley, where results stagnated and their Premier League rivals continued to spend big. Tottenham beat Liverpool 4-1 in October 2017 but two months later, Jurgen Klopp’s side signed Virgil van Dijk and haven’t looked back since.
“I think the third season, 2016-17, when we finished second, this was the season where afterwards we moved to Wembley,” Pochettino said on Sky Sports.
“It was a season where we won 17 games and had two draws in the Premier League.
“The team was doing a fantastic job but that was the season when we started to build the new stadium and we moved to Wembley with all the circumstances.
“If you remember ‘the ghost of Wembley’, [people were saying] ‘if you play at Wembley it’s going to be a disaster’. The energy wasn’t great.
“The feeling… you understand the fans love to go to White Hart Lane, and to have to move to Wembley was a massive step for everyone. But the team kept going and doing well.
“But that I think was the point where maybe we missed [the chance to] improve the squad and the team a little bit so we could be close to winning a big trophy. Afterwards, we had the chance with the final of the Champions League but I think that was the highest point of that amazing journey.”
Pochettino has been away from the game for almost a year after being sacked by Spurs, and his replacement, Mourinho, has added to his squad impressively in recent months.
Tottenham have been touted as outside contenders for the Premier League title, and Pochettino would like to see them lift a major trophy – providing he isn’t managing a rival team by then.
“It was an amazing journey, we enjoyed it a lot,” he said of his time at the club.
“We only felt sad that we could not provide, for the club and for the fans – and because this group of players deserved to be recognised – a trophy.
“I hope in the future it will be possible for them to win a trophy with Jose. It would be amazing for the fans and for the group of players.”
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