MX23RW : Sunday, December 15 06:36:51| >> :120:30059:30059:

Daniel Levy opens door to Mauricio Pochettino Tottenham return

Daniel Levy sacked Mauricio Pochettino in November.

Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy has opened the door to Mauricio Pochettino returning to the club one day.

Levy sacked Pochettino in November less than six months after the Argentinian led Spurs to the Champions League final following a poor start to the season.

He admits it was a gut-wrenching decision to remove Pochettino, who had turned the club into one of the best in England during his five-and-a-half-years at the helm.

Tottenham had some memorable moments under former boss Mauricio Pochettino
Tottenham had some memorable moments under former boss Mauricio Pochettino (Adam Davy/PA)

Pochettino hinted his and the club's paths would cross again and Levy appears to think similar.

"You have to understand I had built up a personal relationship with Mauricio over five-and-a-half years," Levy told the Evening Standard.

"It is not something I ever wanted. Personally, it was ­incredibly difficult, I told him that and he understood.

"He's been in football (a long time), he understands. It's not personal and I'm sure he'll come back stronger and get an opportunity to manage another great club. Maybe one day he'll come back to us.

Daniel Levy is happy with his new manager
Daniel Levy is happy with his new manager (Steven Paston/PA)

"I'm not going to sit here and analyse the past. It's not productive.

"Mauricio did a fantastic job for us, we are very grateful. I wish him all the best for the future.

"I'm still in contact with him. My relationship is very good with him. It just got to the point where it felt we needed a divorce."

While Arsenal and Everton have taken their time in their in search for new managers, Levy moved on from Pochettino to Jose Mourinho in less than 12 hours.

"Many years ago, I can't remember exactly, we were linked with him," Levy said. "But I'd never spoken to Jose. We never had a conversation.

Jose Mourinho is the new man in charge at Tottenham
Jose Mourinho is the new man in charge at Tottenham (John Walton/PA)

"And his availability was totally unrelated to Mauricio, not connected at all.

"I can't remember when I first spoke to Jose, but once I made the decision in my mind we had to make the change, although internally we knew of more than one candidate who would have been interested, Jose was absolutely number one.

"We had a number of discussions. Firstly, it was such a hard decision and you never know what you are really getting until you work with somebody.

"There are lots of perceptions out there in relation to Jose that I'm not sure are true.

"I wanted to spend some time with him so we were totally aligned, on the basis there was no point him coming to a club where he expected different things to us.

"And we were totally aligned on the strategy going forward."

ID:383447: cacheID:383447:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:8017:
Written by
P A
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Lille midfielder Boubakary Soumare pictured in action with Kylian Mbappe during a Ligue 1 match in December 2017
Read Next:
Wolves 'make big-money bid for Soumare'
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
6pm
Chiefs
@
Browns
6pm
Ravens
@
Giants
6pm
Jets
@
Jags
6pm
Cowboys
@
Panthers
6pm
Washington
@
Saints
6pm
Dolphins
@
Texans
6pm
Bengals
@
Titans
9.25pm
Colts
@
Broncos
9.25pm
Patriots
@
Cardinals
9.25pm
Buccaneers
@
Chargers
9.25pm
Steelers
@
Eagles
9.25pm
Bills
@
Lions
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool15113131131836
2Chelsea1594235181731
3Arsenal1686229151430
4Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest168442119228
5Manchester CityMan City158342721627
6Aston Villa167452425-125
7Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton156632522324
8Bournemouth157352320324
9Fulham166642422224
10Brentford157263128323
11Newcastle UnitedNewcastle166552321223
12Tottenham HotspurSpurs1562731191220
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd155461918119
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham155372028-818
15Everton153661421-715
16Leicester CityLeicester163582134-1314
17Crystal Palace152761420-613
18Ipswich TownIpswich162681628-1212
19Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1623112440-169
20Southampton1512121131-205


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!