Fri 08 March 2019, 17:46
Tottenham HotspurMauricio Pochettino expects lessons to have been learned from our recent defeat at Burnley as we step out at St Mary’s on Saturday.
We travelled to Turf Moor just days before facing Chelsea, Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund in the space of a week. Mauricio stated at the time that he felt it was the most important game and that we had to match Burnley’s aggression. We didn’t and despite controlling long periods of the game, lost 2-1.
Now we face a Southampton side who jumped from 19th to 15th with four wins in new boss Ralph Hasenhuttl’s first eight games but have slipped back down to 17th with one win in the last six.
Just three days after progressing in style to the quarter-finals of the Champions League with a 4-0 aggregate win against Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund, Mauricio knows there can be no repeat of Turf Moor if we’re to come away from Southampton with another important Premier League victory.
Southampton are playing to survive, they have very good players and it’s going to be difficult. We need to give our best
“At the end, it’s about delivering your job in 90 minutes,” said Mauricio. “We know very well the situation that happened (at Burnley) cannot be repeated if we want to be a contender and in a good place at the end of the season. It’s massive, the three points we play for in Southampton. We need to give our best.
“They are playing to survive, they have very good players and it’s going to be difficult. We watched the game against Manchester United (3-2 loss last time out) and they deserved more than to lose, they played so well. It will be a tough game and we need to be ready.
“We know very well their philosophy and the way they play. We are going to try to do our job, try to be better, force them to play deeper and manage the game.
“That is the objective and at the end, the most important thing is the three points because we need the three points in the Premier League after the two defeats.
“Southampton is a place that’s in my heart and I am always going to love them. It will be tough. My wish and my hope is that they finish in a good way – after our game, of course.”
