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Football London
Football London
Sport
Josh Challies

Mauricio Pochettino identifies his proudest achievement at Tottenham

Mauricio Pochettino has identified his proudest achievement at Tottenham and, perhaps surprisingly, it wasn't reaching the Champions League final.

The Argentine was axed midway through last season and replaced by Jose Mourinho, just months after leading Spurs to the Champions League final in Madrid.

However, discussing his spell at the club, Pochettino spoke about his pride in creating a competitive side in north London and closing the gap on the Premier League's elite clubs.

“I think with the mind and mentality when I was a player I wanted to win. Still, I want to win with my kids in everything we play," he told Sky Sports.

"Our mentality in Espanyol, in Southampton, in Tottenham, the club provides you to try and perform in the right way by respecting our values in the right way, that’s the most important. Try to create a platform that can help the players to improve every day.

"We are very demanding in every area. I started to feel proud from the beginning, to connect with the team, the club, to build a very good relationship with Daniel, a very good relationship with the board.

"Of course, the fans started to know us and the way we wanted to develop our game. I always respected ‘To Dare is to Do’, it was always in my mind. Tottenham isn’t about the glory, it’s about the style.

"We knew it would be really hard to try and compete with the big sides. From the moment we arrived in 2014, the big teams were spending big money to try and buy quality, to add to the team and for us, it was a little bit different.

"Our priority was to always win, improving, trying to be close, trying to play Champions League games that was missing in Tottenham, trying to be contenders like we were in the past and in the same way, trying to create some style of football, some identity, where the fans can feel proud.

"That is why I feel so proud because we had the facility to build something special, but when the expectation is so high - you need to win.”

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