Tottenham must feel at home at Wembley, Mauricio Pochettino says
Thursday 24 November 2016 14:49, UK
Mauricio Pochettino insists Tottenham must not use Wembley as an excuse following his side's dismal Champions League campaign.
Spurs' 2-1 defeat in Monaco on Tuesday ended any chance of qualifying from the group stage with one game still to play, with the two 'home' defeats to Monaco and Bayer Leverkusen at Wembley at the heart of their early elimination.
Tottenham still have one more game to play there - against CSKA Moscow - needing a point to qualify for the Europa League, but with the club due to play all their home games at Wembley next season while their new stadium is built, Pochettino says the players must work hard to make it feel like home.
"You can't stop to complain or blame, you can only stop to analyse and be calm when you assess the team and the players, to make good decisions and improve," he said.
"For me, I am looking forward to making Wembley feel like home to the players. The new stadium is coming but we will be at Wembley next season and we need to think of that as our home.
"We need to stop thinking about the negative things about Wembley. They won't help us today and they won't help us in the future."
Pochettino denied reports the club is considering requesting to play Europa League games at White Hart Lane should they qualify.
"I don't know where that news has started. We have a very good relationship about that and there is nothing to say about that."
Spurs take on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday eager to banish the memories of their visit to west London last season, when they threw away a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 in an ill-tempered affair - a result which ended their Premier League title hopes.
But the omens are not good for the visitors. Spurs have not won at Chelsea for 26 years.
"It's a challenge for us to play Chelsea at this moment. They are in very good form, they have a great manager and they have great players," added Pochettino.
"They are not involved in European competition and that gives them an advantage as it gives them more time to train and prepare.
"It is a motivation for us. It is a very good challenge. For me personally it is a big motivation and it must be for the players too."
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