Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino faces the prospect of being banned for his angry confrontation of referee Mike Dean last weekend, but he appeared in jovial mood on Thursday night to claim “finally I got a trophy” after being named Manager of the Year at the London Football Awards.
The Spurs boss has accepted an FA charge of misconduct after the fiery reaction to Dean following last Saturday’s 2-1 defeat by Burnley, while Tottenham’s Premier League title challenge also suffered a major blow in Wednesday night’s loss to Chelsea that leaves Pochettino’s side nine point behind table-toppers Liverpool.
But those results did not detract from Pochettino’s work over the last 12 months that saw him honoured at Thursday’s annual awards ceremony, where he was part of a Spurs clean sweep as Son Heung-min claimed the Player of the Year gong.
Taking to the stage to accept his award, Pochettino joked: "Like some people joke before - finally I got a trophy!"
Funds from the ceremony goes to the Willow charity that works with seriously ill adults between 16 and 40 years old, and Pochettino was keen to stress the importance of their work and why he was happy to help their cause.
"It is a great honour for me, of course,” he added. "Always an award means a lot for everyone and I want to say thank you to the foundation and of course for these London awards."
Son was honoured for his form over the last year, having scored 23 goals since the start of March 2018 and providing 16 of them in his 34 club appearances this season. The South Korea international beat off competition from Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Chelsea’s Eden Hazard, Crystal Palace’s Andros Townsend and Tottenham teammate Harry Kane, but it was his fellow Spurs players that he paid tribute to upon collecting his award.
"It means a lot," said Son. "Without team mates, I can't win such a trophy.
"For me it is very special, and I want to say thank you to my team mates, the coaching staff and the gaffer."
West Ham United’s Declan Rice picked up the award for Young Player of the Year, while Townsend claimed the Goal of the Year gong for his sensational long-range volley against Manchester City in December.
