Postecoglou: No guard of honour for Poch return

Ange Postecoglou said Tottenham fans will show Mauricio Pochettino “nothing but respect” upon his return to the club next week but insisted there would be no guard-of-honour-style staged show of gratitude.

Pochettino will make his first appearance at Spurs on Monday night when Chelsea travel to N17, having previously managed the club for five-and-a-half years up to November 2019.

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The 51-year-old transformed Tottenham into top-four regulars, challenging for the 2016-17 Premier League before reaching the 2019 Champions League final.

It was speculated that Pochettino could manage Spurs again — particularly after Antonio Conte was sacked in March — but instead this summer he joined London rivals Chelsea, who have endured a slow start to the campaign, lying in 11th place.

Speaking at his news conference on Thursday, Postecoglou said: “It is undoubted that he had an unbelievable impact on this football club. As all of us in our roles, that’s our ultimate goal and ambition that in whatever doors we go through, we make an impact.

“He made an undeniable impact on this football club, his time here — he almost took the club to the ultimate summit of the Champions League, got close to the league. So his work is unquestioned.

“Everyone I speak to around here, there are still people who worked with him, they can’t speak highly enough of him as a person, as a manager. I doubt there would be anything but respect for Maurício from anyone at this football club — supporters or people associated with it.

“That doesn’t mean he’s going to get a guard of honour on Monday night because we want to win. And I don’t think he would expect that. But his tenure and impact here is undeniable and will stand the test of time that whenever people think of Mauricio and his time as Spurs manager, will only look upon it with respect and fondness.”

Chelsea have spent more than £1 billion since new owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital completed their takeover of the club in May 2022, signing a large number of players to long-term contracts, some of which run up to and beyond 2030.

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Asked what he made of Chelsea’s journey in the last 18 months and the challenge Pochettino faces, Postecoglou said: “Whether that’s Mauricio or any other manager I guess, you don’t really know what they are having to deal with to get to the end point. But at the same time, while others may look at it and say ‘that’s a real difficult one,’ there will be managers saying ‘I wish I had a billion to spend and waste’ because what some people sometimes see as an advantage, others see as a disadvantage.

“That’s the challenge for all us managers. I really think we are all in our own unique space that nobody can really understand because none of us can really disclose all the information because that’s the way organisations work.

“What I have to deal with and what Mauricio has to deal with are probably very, very different. But in essence what we are trying to do is the same thing: Build a team that we believe can bring success.

“You look at Mauricio’s track record and I’ve got no doubt he’ll get Chelsea on the right path, I’ve no doubt about that. How he goes about that, he knows better than anyone else.”

Pushed on whether he would like £1bn to spend, Postecoglou added: “Not necessarily. I’ve always said I’ve never felt it is about just spending money. That’s been proved time and time again.

“Yeah, look if you get it all right then you’ve got a pretty strong case but there’s always a limit to every team.

“You can’t have 24 world class players. That will never work. It doesn’t work, it’s been proven. It’s about having a squad that’s balanced, guys that are committed to a cause, guys that maybe aren’t going to play every game but every time they play they are going to make a huge impact for you because they buy into what you are trying to build.

“Just spending endless money to get the best players has been proven time and time again is not the answer. The answer is to get the right chemistry in your team, in your squad, to have 24 players committed to one cause. I don’t think you can do that if you just get the 24 best players in the world. That’s a headache I definitely don’t want.”