Mauricio Pochettino launches passionate defence of Tottenham and challenges their ‘Spursy’ reputation

After qualifying for the Champions League last 16 and advancing to the Carabao Cup semi-final by beating bitter rivals Arsenal, Pochettino has called on people to change their negative view of Spurs

For Mauricio Pochettino, it was a satisfying pure football solution that paid off. For everyone else, the Tottenham Hotspur manager feels, it was a “negative” that is increasingly unfair on his club. Pochettino was talking about how he decided to put Ben Davies in as a centre-half out of necessity against Burnley and Arsenal.

The manager couldn’t help notice the criticism of for the decision given it produced two clean sheets in successive wins, and he feels it is reflective of the increasingly incorrect “Spursy” perception of the club. That label has grown as a reference to how the team ultimately fails when close to glory.

That is despite the fact Spurs have just had one of their best weeks in years, as they got a draw at Barcelona to improbably qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League, beat Burnley 1-0 with a last-minute winner, and then won at Arsenal to reach the semi-finals of the League Cup.

It makes a change from the end of October, when Pochettino said he was suffering his “worst feeling” at the club. He had a surprising answer when the transformation was put to him.

“No, I still feel the same. Because I know it’s so easy to go back to the same feeling. Now because we are on a good, and playing well, but the moment we lose games it’s going to turn quick. I know that very well. This is normal. My experience in football, because I try to understand everything, in this football club if some bad results arrive it’s going to turn again.

“All the positives today will be reversed and become negatives. Because we are still not solid in our idea. We believe, but not really believe. We are happy, but not so happy. I think there’s still massive work to do. But when I say ‘worst feeling’ I don’t speak about inside of the club. I talk about the perception outside. We are still fragile, not solid enough as a club to support some good and some bad because the perception of the people can affect the club. I think we are changing a lot and we are going to change, if we have time, to do that. But [the belief around us] is still so fragile.”

Asked about the use of the phrase “Spursy”, Pochettino said he would seem the same “negativity” regarding transfer plans in January.

“Yes, because we are doing fantastic but if we don’t sign in January people say we are going to struggle - it’s all negative. Rather to say Tottenham didn’t sign anyone is because they believe that they are going to - or have the tools - perform as well and maybe challenge for the title. It’s always negative. The doubt is always negative, never positive that’s because of the history. Because of what happened in the past.

The Tottenham manager has called on people to stop viewing the club in a negative way (Reuters)

“We need to fight with this perception. When we start to rotate, for example when Ben Davies was going to play at centre-back against Burnley. And the perception is, oh, Ben Davies is not centre-back, but after two games, two clean sheet, first clean sheet in Emirates against Arsenal, and clean sheet against Burnley, and two victories, and now the people is like, wow, yes, amazing performance from Ben Davies but before was negative, rather to say, OK, we are going to see what happens, then we are going to criticise or to praise, but always negative.

"All the decisions are always taken in the negative way, and in that it’s so difficult to build something special and strong structure for the future to win, but we are fighting about that perception in the last four years and a half... the big achievement in that four years and a half is that self-belief, and that soil that every day is bigger and bigger, and that the club is going to be more important than any name in the club.

“The answer is to win games… to win trophies. To be competitive. Always to be proud about your team, about your players, I think the case of when we sign Paulo Gazzinaga, the people criticise, oh he sign the third keeper.

“We sign Paulo one year ago from Southampton, and the perception was ‘oh, we cannot [present] the player because it looks like we don’t have ambition. If we present the player from Southampton, ‘oh the club don;’t have ambition’. It’s so… poor, no? It’s so bad.

“It’s a shame, because, after one year and a half, Paulo keep a clean sheet in the derby against Arsenal for the first time in the Emirates, and he was fantastic yesterday, but because always the doubt is negative sometimes we cannot behave [with] freedom, and we need to behave [with] freedom, and not… of course, read the media, listen to the fans, and in the end we need to feel free to take the decision.

"We are fighting with that and we are in I think a very good way, no?"