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Matt Le Tissier: 'Mauricio Pochettino gambled on Tottenham Hotspur'

Mauricio Pochettino took a "huge gamble" in leaving St Mary's, says former Southampton star Matt Le Tissier.

Former Southampton star Matt Le Tissier has insisted that Mauricio Pochettino took a "huge gamble" in leaving the Saints for Tottenham Hotspur.

Le Tissier, who scored 161 goals in 442 games for Southampton, believes that Pochettino may be ruing his decision as Spurs now sit six places below his former team in the Premier League table.

"If I had been him, I am not sure it is a job I would have looked at and thought, 'there's a bit of job security'! He has taken a huge gamble with his reputation," Le Tissier told The Express.

"He may have thought that this opportunity might never come up again so I can understand him wanting to have a go at it. Spurs are obviously a team where he felt he had a better chance of playing Champions League football. You can understand it from that point of view.

"But sometimes the grass isn't always greener on the other side and the way the season has started, he might be looking up the table and thinking, 'Oh! What have I done?'"

Le Tissier, who turned down several offers to leave Southampton during his playing career, has warned that Pochettino may come to regret his decision.

"He could dent his career a little bit and if things don't work out pretty quickly, he could find himself going the same way as a lot of other managers at Tottenham have done recently," he added.

New Southampton manager Ronald Koeman takes his side to White Hart Lane to face Pochettino's Tottenham Hotspur tomorrow.

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Mauricio Pochettino the Spurs manager directs his players during the Barclays Premier League match between West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur at Boleyn Ground on August 16, 2014
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