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Mauricio Pochettino: Money will not be a problem even if Spurs fail to qualify for Champions League



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Spurs are in a three-way battle for the last two Champions League spots Credit: getty images


8 May 2018 • 10:30pm

Mauricio Pochettino has insisted that money should be no problem for chairman Daniel Levy – whether or not Tottenham Hotspur hold on to a place in the top four and qualify for the Champions League.

Tottenham manager Pochettino has urged his players to “die” to get over the line in their final two games of the season, against Newcastle United on Wednesday night and Leicester City, with Chelsea now just two points behind them and third-placed Liverpool one point in front.

But Pochettino has dismissed the suggestion that Spurs are under greater financial pressure than their rivals to qualify for the Champions League, even though they are due to move into their £850million new stadium.

Tottenham have qualified for the Champions League for the last two seasons and, in Pochettino’s view, that should have ensured the club’s financial position, despite the fact that missing out is estimated to cost between £50m and £70m.

“I think Daniel is safe with the money,” said Pochettino. “It is not a problem. The plan four years ago was not to play every season in the Champions League to be sure that the club is going to survive.


“If you over-achieve, fantastic. You have more money to invest in the facilities like the new stadium, but I don’t think money is a problem.”

Whether or not Levy would agree with his manager’s assessment is debatable. Tottenham plan to offer new contracts to Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Jan Vertonghen, Hugo Lloris, Heung-min Son, Christian Eriksen and Pochettino himself.

Whether or not the club would meet the demands of their star players and Pochettino without the income from the Champions League is unclear. It could also affect the budget for the summer transfer window.

But Pochettino believes money should not be the main motivation of trying to qualify for Europe’s elite competition for a third successive season.

“The second thing is money, but the first is that to qualify for the Champions League is a dream of everyone and for me it’s impossible to not give your best in the last two games to win,” said Pochettino.

“It’s massive because the Champions League is, with the Premier League, the best competition in the world. It’s in our own hands and we need to die to try to achieve that.



“Now it’s not about ‘we need to do this, or play like that or two strikers, three defenders’. It’s about the players being prepared to die to try to achieve it.
“We have to be all together, to fight for that, with our fans and to create a good atmosphere for Wednesday night and Sunday, and try to achieve all together and to be sure to play Champions League in the new stadium. That would be fantastic.”



Tottenham have been accused of looking tired over the past five games, during which time they have only won once, but Pochettino believes the final two games provide a greater mental challenge than a physical test.
Two victories would ensure a third-place finish above Liverpool and Pochettino, who is without Eric Dier against Newcastle, said: “I hope we are focused to make sure we are able to win the last two games and be in the top four. It would be a massive success for the team and the club to finish third.”