Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino suggests stadium move has hindered trophy chances
Saturday 26 January 2019 07:30, UK
Mauricio Pochettino has suggested Tottenham's stadium move has temporarily set the club back in its pursuit of silverware.
Pochettino is yet to win a trophy during his time in north London and another opportunity was lost on Thursday as Spurs were beaten by Chelsea in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup.
Pochettino says he understands fans' frustrations but believes he may have won a trophy if the club had not moved away from White Hart Lane while their new stadium is built.
"We are always close to the last step [to trophies] but to achieve it is the most difficult thing," said the Argentine ahead of Sunday's FA Cup tie at Crystal Palace.
"At the moment, the team needed the last push, what happened? We build and build but then, White Hart Lane - gone.
"We moved to Wembley and there were all the doubts about how we are going to behave. There was the example of West Ham in their first season [at the London Stadium], and many things in this process that stopped the evolution of the team about to win.
"Remember, we were unbeaten in the Premier League at White Hart Lane in our last season there.
"Nobody said what it meant to move to Wembley to create another project and not only this - we were going to play only one season at Wembley, and now it's nearly two seasons and no one says nothing.
"When Arsenal moved [to Emirates Stadium], people talked about massive problems, they are still paying."
Pochettino says Tottenham have "no history of winning" but believes the club is heading in the right direction under his guidance.
"Sometimes we forget where we came from four and a half years ago. That is the first mistake people make," he said.
"Tottenham will be in the same level as Manchester United, Manchester City, this type of club, Chelsea. In the future, I hope, yes. But we sometimes forget from where we came.
"Four and a half years ago, when we arrived here the people begged to be competitive. Begged to have the possibility, in five years, once to be in the Champions League, to attract good players.
"Be regular competing in the cups in the semi-finals. If you looked at the record of the last four and a half years, we always when we lose, lose against big teams.
"Semi-finals, finals, and I think we were regular in the top four, in some seasons we were contenders - in a different way that the teams that we are talking about.
"And that is completely unfair, to charge the club like you are going to charge Manchester City, Liverpool or Chelsea.
"In the last 10 years, who was the team that won the most titles? Chelsea, no? And after losing on penalties what are we going to say? Only to describe that Tottenham was so competitive, Chelsea was so competitive. It's not changed the reality."
