Mauricio Pochettino dismisses “stupid” Tottenham exit rumors

Mauricio Pochettino isn’t going anywhere, at least not anytime soon.

Spurs fans have a tendency to overreact after a loss, which is exactly what happened after the Newcastle game. Bookmakers suspended betting on Pochettino leaving Spurs after rumors appeared on social media, causing some people to freak out.

Those rumors predictably turned out to be BS, and Pochettino said as much when he spoke to the press on Friday. The Evening Standard has the full quotes.

“What can I say about a stupid rumour? After five years, now I start the sixth and you know how we work in the summer to try to rebuild and update the squad,” Pochettino said. “Now we are 6.0 software. The new version. That stupidity can only happen through some rumours on social media that create a big, big problem that doesn’t exist. I’m not going to walk away after the north London derby.”

“I’m going to be here Monday and Tuesday. My plan is to travel – I don’t want to say where – and then Friday [back] again to London, meeting with Daniel. We’re going to watch some national team games live, and then Monday preparing for the new week. I’m not the type of person who sends messages through social. Did you bet [on it]? It’s closed now, eh? You lost your money!”

It’s nice to see Pochettino in such a good mood on the eve of a massive North London Derby. And it’s no surprise to see him come out and totally trash those rumors, as they were always obviously baseless speculation.

The 47-year-old did talk about possibly leaving Spurs if he won the Champions League final with them, but that always seemed like a half-serious suggestion. Pochettino also signed a new five-year contract with the club in May of 2018.

Their relationship exists primarily behind closed doors, so there’s also a lot of speculation about just how well Pochettino and Daniel Levy work together. The Tottenham manager told the press that his personal relationship with Levy is still solid, and that they went out to dinner together on Thursday night in London.

“[Last night] I was with Daniel and Jesus and we were in London taking a dinner,” Pochettino continued. “It was very good. We talked about everything. We needed to have a conversation last week and this week the same, it was very positive. The most important thing is to help the club and the team perform and be on the same page. Communication is important, and to communicate in a good place always helps.”

“Nothing has changed in our personal relationship. Sometimes our vision in the professional side cannot be the same or sometimes can have some disagreement. But the most important thing is the personal relationship is still strong. This morning he showed me a picture that we took on the last day at White Hart Lane where we are together with our coaching staff and his family and he said, ‘Look, our personal relationship is still there’.”

Any time Pochettino expresses the slightest bit of frustration in the media, fans point towards Levy as being the reason for his dissatisfaction. Last year, when Tottenham didn’t sign anyone in the transfer window, there was surely some disagreement between manager and chairman.

But Pochettino got quite a few of the targets he asked for this summer. He was in a bad mood after the Newcastle match, but can you blame him? His comments this morning show that he is still quite confident and happy with the way things are going at Spurs.

The Lilywhites have the chance to right the ship in a big way on Sunday when they face the other team that plays in North London.