Tottenham’s Mauricio Pochettino was full of praise for Heung-min Son, who scored twice in Spurs’ 5-0 thrashing of Bournemouth.
Tottenham tallied three goals in the first half, and Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min each added another in the second to dominate Bournemouth 5-0.
Tottenham tallied three goals in the first half, and Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min each added another in the second to dominate Bournemouth 5-0.
Mauricio Pochettino hopes Tottenham’s new stadium will generate a similar atmosphere to Anfield and give his players the same boost as the north Londoners pursue Liverpool in the title race.
Jurgen Klopp’s pacesetters have a six-point lead in the Premier League, but second-placed Spurs have home advantage in five of their next seven top-flight matches.
Tottenham will hope to move into their new 62,000-seater stadium during that run, before mid-February, and Pochettino knows how valuable home support can be.
“You can feel, like yesterday when I saw the highlights from Anfield, that the fans are desperate to win and they’re showing their support to the team,” he said. “Yesterday Anfield was amazing. Every game Liverpool play at Anfield is a party and that sometimes makes the difference.”
Asked whether Liverpool currently have an advantage over his side in that respect, as the prolonged stay at a half-empty Wembley continues, Pochettino praised the effort being made by Spurs’ supporters but stressed his desire for Tottenham to move to the new stadium and play in a genuine home ground.
“We cannot ask more from our fans, I think they’re doing a fantastic job,” he said. “The circumstances are against not only the team and the club but against our fans, because it wasn’t easy to get to Wembley [on Boxing Day for the 5-0 win against Bournemouth]. There were lots of problems to arrive on public services.
“Yesterday maybe they were our fans, but many fans that have come in this period have visited London and, like a theatre, they say, ‘Oh it’s a game at Wembley, I’m going to buy a ticket.’
“It’s normal, but our fans feel and they try to increase the atmosphere — but we have a limit too. In a 90,000 stadium we have a limit of no more than 51,000 and yesterday we had 45,000. That in our stadium means it’s very warm, the atmosphere, but in Wembley it’s impossible.
“That’s why when I’m asked, ‘Do you want to move [during the season]?’ I’ve said, ‘Of course, as soon as possible,’ because it’s going to be a massive boost for the team and for our fans.
“It’s going to be a place where the fans can help the team to achieve what we want. That’s why there’s no doubt. I’m so happy at Wembley but tomorrow, if the new stadium is ready, we’re going to move there and make our new house home.”
Pochettino also believes that winning the Premier League with Spurs would be a greater achievement than Atletico Madrid’s 2014 title triumph in La Liga.
That was the only time in the last 14 seasons that the trophy hasn’t been lifted by either Real Madrid or Barcelona — but Pochettino sees few comparisons as his Spurs side bid to overcome title favourites Liverpool and Manchester City.
“The perception is that people try to compare us with Dortmund when it’s completely different, and with Atletico Madrid,” he said. “[Diego] Simeone is the best-paid manager in Spain. His salary is bigger than the Real Madrid manager, Barcelona manager, Sevilla manager and Valencia manager.
“The investment from Atletico in their players is bigger than ours. It’s just below but very close to Real Madrid and Barcelona. They keep players like [Antoine] Griezmann and pay I think better contracts than maybe players at Real Madrid or Barcelona earn. They were capable of signing the striker who had won the Premier League with Chelsea, [Diego] Costa.
“I think the budget they have is maybe four or five times what we have. It’s not similar or comparable. They have built by signing players, with not too many players brought through their academy.
“I always say that I admire Simeone because what he achieved with Atletico Madrid, fighting against Real Madrid and Barcelona, is an amazing thing. But we cannot compare with Atletico Madrid. We are completely different.”
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