Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino not ruling out possibility of taking England job
- Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino is 'open' to the idea of one day managing the England national team
- Across his spells in charge of Southampton and Spurs, the Argentine has managed nine of England's last 17 debutants
- Pochettino remains committed to his job at White Hart Lane for now but has not ruled himself out for The Three Lions in the future
- Spurs are flying high in the Premier League and have not lost since the opening day of the season's 1-0 defeat by Manchester United
Mauricio Pochettino has refused to rule out the possibility of one day taking charge of the England team.
The Tottenham manager is adamant his thoughts are only at White Hart Lane over the coming years, but when asked if he would consider England down the line, he said: 'You never know in football. I am always open for the future.'
The Argentine, who has managed nine of England's last 17 debutants, added: 'It is very difficult for me to answer but you never know what will happen in the future.
'If someone had asked me three or four years ago whether I would work in England, I would have said, "Of course not, because I don't speak English". But then the owner of Southampton called me and said he wanted me to manage their team. Now I am here at Tottenham and speaking English.
'But I am very happy here at Tottenham. I enjoy it a lot. I find the people and the chairman have a very good philosophy.'
They are fantasy thoughts for now, but as Pochettino's profile grows, so do his possibilities, which extends to Sunday's huge clash with Chelsea.
It says plenty about the clubs' respective seasons that they stand 10 points apart going into the meeting at White Hart Lane. It says even more about Pochettino that Spurs will start the fixture without the suspicion inside their own dressing room that they will get battered.
That shift in status, from fodder for the big clubs to confident contenders, has arguably been the greatest stride made by Pochettino in his 18 months at Spurs.
The 5-3 demolition of Chelsea on New Year's Day is seen internally at the club as the game when Tottenham made the psychological transition, with the fascination this time round coming from how Spurs, at full speed and unbeaten in 12 in the league, get on against champions in a state of chaos.
Pochettino clearly remembers how distressed Jose Mourinho was in the aftermath of such a heavy defeat and how much his own players fed off the result.
He said: 'It was difficult for Jose because he was very upset and didn't speak after the game. I could understand. It has been like that some games for me.
'Sometimes when you have lost you don't want to speak to anybody. But we have a very good relationship and I am sure we will say hello before the game on Sunday. He was very good to me when I was at Espanyol and he was at Real Madrid.'
He added: 'For Tottenham, it was a very special game. For many players it gave the belief that we can achieve important things. Now our mentality is every time we play we need to show we have the quality to win every game.
'It's too early to say if this will be a special season, but it's true the feeling is very good from the beginning of the season. The way that we play, from last season, we have improved a lot.'
The suspicion lingers that Spurs are hostages to fortune considering their lack of authentic striking options if Harry Kane gets injured. But through Chelsea's incredible shortcomings — seven league defeats and counting — the title has rarely felt so vulnerable to outsiders.
Pochettino's chances, in the short term, will be shaped by how his players recover from the 1-0 win over Qarabag in Azerbaijan on Thursday, which left Spurs with only one day to prepare for Chelsea.
A win this weekend would have a major impact on their efforts to finish in the top four and raise the possibility of something bigger.
Pochettino said: 'We are very ambitious and we need to be realistic too. It is true that always we want more, but we need to move step by step. If we are consistent then maybe we can achieve positive things.'
Tottenham fans have also been advised to arrive at White Hart Lane by 11am on Sunday in order to clear security checks ahead of the midday kick-off against Chelsea.
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