![]() Before he did anything else, he had to transform the mood. Pochettino inherited a bloated squad of 34 unfit, unmotivated players. Confidence was on the floor and the players had long stopped enjoying playing at White Hart Lane, scared of the negative atmosphere in their own stadium. They had no identity, no real football principles, and had been beset by injuries. That replacement, Tim Sherwood, had called out a perceived lack of “guts and character” in the squad. And then sacked his replacement, too - not for the last time. ![]() ![]() The 2013-14 campaign had been a disaster for Spurs. Pochettino in his first Tottenham pre-season nine years ago (Photo: Brian Kersey/Getty Images) Will he be able to convince the players his methods are the path to improving themselves and building a winning team? Will he be able to sideline those who do not buy into his ideas? Will he be able to build a culture and an ethos where none currently exists, building the conditions for his style of football to flourish? The big question as Pochettino takes over at Stamford Bridge is whether this job will be more like Tottenham for him or more like PSG. How do you create a unified squad of hungry, humble players when some of them are being paid 10 times more than others? How do you convince footballers they need to buy into your methods and respect your processes when they have won so much already in their careers? And how do you tell players they do not have an automatic right to play in the games when they have been signed by the club as ambassadors for the owners’ sporting project? He just had to give those players something to believe in.īut when Pochettino became Paris Saint-Germain coach in January 2021, he struggled to exert the same grip on the place that he had at Tottenham. This is what he did so well at Tottenham, creating an ethos and culture where none previously existed, turning a disparate jumble of footballers into the most unified and determined Spurs team in modern history. What ties together these different elements of Pochettino’s work - what makes the football really buzz - is his ability as a man-manager and squad builder. ![]() This is all true, but the foundations are the human connections, between Pochettino and his players, and between the players themselves. Or about the relentless running and double training sessions that make it possible. When people think about Pochettino, and what he might bring to Chelsea, they may think about the aggressive high press and organisation in possession, the outcome you see on the pitch. Those players who do not believe in the manager’s ideas are welcome to go and play somewhere else. ![]()
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