Mauricio Pochettino has denied suggestions he doesn’t care about the FA Cup ahead of Tottenham’s fourth round replay against Newport County on Wednesday.
The Spurs boss previously said the club should be focusing its efforts on winning the Premier League or Champions League rather than domestic cups.
But in a press conference on Tuesday, he was keen to re-evaluate.
“None of the players will knock on the door and say, ‘Gaffer, I’m tired!’ That’s never happened in real life. They’re always ready to compete and play if you ask them,” Pochettino said. (Quotes via ESPN.)
“But it’s up to us to discover the truth. That’s what the squad is so important in England. Over four competitions during the season, you need to rotate and give rest and provide the squad the possibilities to play.
“We’ll play Wednesday now and then Saturday morning [against Arsenal]. It’s so difficult for some players to be ready again to compete. You need to manage. The people and the fans need to trust in our decision. We’re the first people interested in winning.
“You know what happens when we don’t win. The first to go home is this guy,” added Pochettino, gesturing to himself. “The second is this guy next to me [assistant manager Jesus Perez].
“The manager and coaching staff always take the best decisions to win. That’s why we laugh when you say it looks like we don’t want to win titles, games. If not, we are silly people, we are managing this kind of company and we don’t understand anything about football!”
