Mauricio Pochettino has put his hand up and has held himself accountable for the undesirable result in the last night’s European game against Ajax, but he also stressed that he didn’t have a lot of options at his disposal and although he probably should have used a different structure, the structure was not the reason why the visitors were able to take that early lead which turned out to be the decider.
Pochettino reckons that after the half-time break, there was nothing to choose between the two sides because both matched each other shot for shot and it was Even-Stevens, but that little period in the initial stages of the game where his team was not at it, that cost them big.
Pochettino doesn’t think the tie is as good as done as they were beaten at home in the first leg and the Spurs’ chances of making the final are not that bright now. The manager is of the opinion that since it’s not a loss by a huge margin, his team is well and truly in it and they have to tell themselves that they are good enough to go to Ajax and beat them by a better margin. The belief must be there.
Tottenham will now travel to Ajax in a week’s time for the second leg of the tie, but before that they have to visit the Vitality Stadium to lock horns with Bournemouth this Saturday.