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Poch hopes return to Saints will ‘spur’ form
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TOTTENHAM Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino returns to former club Southampton today with a feeling of gratitude, but also a burning desire for a return to form on the road.
The north Londoners have not won away since September, a run that has left them outside of the English Premier League top four.
But they have won four of their last five games overall, which Pochettino, who left Southampton for White Hart Lane in 2014, believes can be the springboard to a title challenge. “It’s always special to go back,” said the Argentine, who joined the south coast club in January 2013 before leaving 16 months later.
“It was a special place for me and my family to have the possibility to start my career in the Premier League.
“It will always be a special place for me and a lot of people I still have a relationship with. It will be a good opportunity to see all the friends there.
“(Southampton manager) Claude Puel has done a fantastic job. I know him well from France.”
Spurs go into the game a huge 13 points below leader Chelsea, having played a game less, but Pochettino refuses to give up on the title. “We can fight for the title at the end of the season. It’s up to us to fight and be ambitious and try to be our best. With 17 games played, we have more than half the season ahead. All is possible in football.”
Pochettino still keeps in contact with former player Jay Rodriguez, who scored twice against Bournemouth last week to signal his return to form after over a year out with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament.
“I’m very happy for him,” the Spurs manager said. “I sent the text. I was happy to see him on the pitch again. He suffered a very bad injury and I remember, fresh in our minds, that day at Man City.”
The 3-1 win at Bournemouth means Puel’s men have now gone three EPL games unbeaten since they were knocked out of the Europa League.
Winger Dusan Tadic says spirits are high as they look forward to the Spurs clash at St Mary’s. “I think we get a lot of confidence now from the last win and that was really important for us because we had the disappointment of going out of Europe and we needed the points.”
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