Mauricio Pochettino has said he would have been sacked if Tottenham had won domestic cups rather than finishing in the top four of the Premier League over the last few years.
Spurs have finished in the top three in each of the last three Premier League campaigns and currently sit third in the table, but Pochettino is yet to lead the Londoners to any silverware.
The Argentinian has regularly spoken about his preference to win the Premier League or the Champions League with Tottenham, rather than the domestic cups.
Ahead of Spurs’ trip to Tranmere Rovers in the third round of the FA Cup on Friday night, Pochettino reiterated his stance on what would count as success at the club, claiming he would have been sacked based on FA Cup and League Cup victories alone.
“If it’s only the objective to win the Carabao Cup and be in the middle of the table in the Premier League, I think today we’re not talking how we’re talking here,” Pochettino said (via ESPN).
“I think I [would have been] sacked a few years ago, for sure, with two or three Carabao Cups or FA Cups.
“If you don’t finish how we’ve finished in the last three seasons [but win] the FA Cup, I don’t know if Daniel [Levy, the chairman] would have too much patience with me or is very nice and says, ‘OK you’re 10th in the Premier League, I keep you and even give you a new contract.’ I don’t believe that.
“What is success? Of course, we’re the first that will want to win a trophy but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be a very successful thing or put Tottenham in a different level.
“What puts you in a different level is if you win the Premier League and you’re capable of challenging every season for the Premier League, and if you play Champions League and you really believe and you’re a real contender one day to win the Champions League. That’s my objective in Tottenham.
“If my ambition in Tottenham is only to win the Capital One Cup or FA Cup, with all the respect for that, I think my ambition does not match the ambition of a club like Tottenham. My ambition is to win the Champions League one day with Tottenham, or the Premier League.”
Tottenham face Chelsea in the EFL Cup semi-finals this month, and they travel to Tranmere in the FA Cup tonight hoping to progress further in another cup competition – check out our predicted Spurs XI here.
That just goes to prove we lack in quality and depth, if we have better quality waiting to come in we could push on all fronts, but we only have a quality first 11 and they have to be rested so in cup games we will be fielding weaker teams than most of the top 6. Be prepared to be let down again by Levy and co.
No it proves that he represents our club because he is right that is what we consider succes. Not a fa cup or league cup win
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