Tuesday 24 November 2015 07:47, UK
Mauricio Pochettino says all he can do is laugh when he thinks about Tottenham's packed schedule of fixtures.
Pochettino is preparing his side for another Europa League trip on Thursday, although this week's journey is one of the longer the Premier League side could possibly undertake.
Tottenham take on Azerbaijan's Qarabag and face a six-hour flight back from Baku just over two days before taking on Chelsea in the Premier League on Sunday lunchtime.
Chelsea have their own European trek to negotiate, as they travel five hours to play Maccabi Tel Aviv, but their Champions League fixture is on Tuesday, giving the Blues an extra 48 hours to recover.
Tottenham managed a strong performance against Arsenal a fortnight ago, at the end of a similarly exhausting period that included three games in six days, but Pochettino believes this week may be even more challenging.
"I laugh. I only smile," Pochettino said of the tough week ahead. "Again, like it was the week when we played Monday, Thursday and Sunday, three times in six days. And now it's the same.
"Maybe it's worse because you need to fly nearly six hours and then there is the decision about whether to come straight back or stay, it's very difficult because both decisions are bad."
If Tottenham decide to return on Thursday after the match, which kicks off at 6pm UK time, they will land in London in the early hours of Friday morning.
"Maybe we come back, straight back, and we give the players the day off on Friday," Pochettino said.
"Maybe you need to wait two hours at the airport and for us, it's better to go straight after the game and get to England as soon as possible, and give maybe Friday off for recovery."
Pochettino added: "It's the always the same problem. All the clubs in the Premier League at the beginning of the season want to play on TV because it's a business. But when the moment comes to play we complain. The balance is difficult."
