Tottenham Hotspur vs Southampton: I made the right decision to come to Spurs, claims Mauricio Pochettino
The Argentinian manager left Saints and moved to north London in the summer
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Your support makes all the difference.Mauricio Pochettino insists he has no regrets about swapping the home comforts of Southampton for the poisoned chalice of Tottenham.
Pochettino led the summer exodus at St Mary’s and was swiftly followed out of the door by £100 million-worth of players. Many predicted the Saints would go marching in an entirely wrong direction.
Instead, they lie second in the Premier League, while Pochettino’s Tottenham are stuttering. If Southampton were to win when the teams meet at White Hart Lane, they would be eight points clear of Spurs.
But Pochettino said: “When I make a decision I’ve always believed it was the right one. Maybe you have some luck along the way, but when it’s your life you need to look forward. It’s done, so you move on.
“It was a big decision to leave Southampton, but in life you need to take decisions. When you have made it there is always pressure to make sure it’s the right one.
“There was a lot of reasons for leaving but you have to forget and look forward. It was the best period of my life and a lot of people still love me in Southampton; I have big memories.”
Pochettino is unlikely to receive a warm welcome from the travelling fans but he is still unlikely to celebrate too wildly if Tottenham win.
The 42-year-old Arg-entinian said: “I’m not going to celebrate a victory like that. I’m quiet and calm about it so victory will be a quiet one. I’ve never been big on celebrations anyway. Only once, as a player when we won a game for Espanyol in Barcelona, did I really celebrate. It will be muted.”
Talk to Pochettino about pressure and he is equally dismissive. The expectations at Tottenham may well exceed those at Southampton, but he said: “There is always pressure, no matter where you are. I don’t feel any differently here to how I felt at Espanyol or Southampton.
“If you have a good result you are a great manager, and if you lose you aren’t.
“I might be under the spotlight more here, but I don’t feel this pressure.”
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