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Mauricio Pochettino says Newcastle United experience cannot happen again

9 years ago
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While Newcastle fans are still celebrating the surprise turn around at White Hart Lane, for Mauricio Pochettino it has obviously left deep scars.

The Tottenham manager has declared ‘That cannot happen again’ when referring to the shambolic goal (from Spurs’ point of view) from Sammy Ameobi just after half-time.

Pochettino saying that ‘it was a very bad feeling’ to see the ball in the back of Tottenham’s net only seven seconds after the kick-off, something that he has never experienced before in his career.

How I can forgive?;

“What must the players achieve for me to forgive their mistakes against Newcastle? First of all, it must be a turning point. You have to be alive for the whole 90 to 95 minutes.”

Arriving in the dugout;

“I had only just arrived at the dugout when Newcastle scored straight away. I have never seen an opponent score so quick against my team. It was the first time it’s ever happened with me on the bench – and, I hope, the last time because it was a very bad feeling.”

It cannot happen again;

“The reality is that we lost against Newcastle, but we played very well. We had a lack of concentration after half-time and lost a goal after five seconds. That cannot happen again.”

The Tottenham boss also revealed how much emphasis he puts on the mental side of the game and what they did pre-season to try and change the mindset of the Spurs players.

Maybe Newcastle need to closely look at this as well, particularly when it comes to one or two defeats often then ending up in long runs of games without wins.

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Likewise the tendency in recent years for Newcastle to collapse and concede three or more once they have let in the first one.

Plus of course the fact that Sunday’s fightback to win after being behind was something of a collector’s item.

Mauricio Pochettino on mentality;

“Before the season, we did a lot of work – in groups and as individuals, on the training ground, in the meeting rooms and in my office – about the mentality we need and changing habits from the past.

“It is harder to work on players’ mentality than physical or tactical aspects. Our philosophy is to take risks – that is our style, and we put pressure on the players to use it.

“I think we are the psychologists – the players want to hear the manager, the assistant manager and the coaching staff. Our job is to support them, we can help them.”

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