‘Is it the biggest? As a coach yes’: Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino admits first-leg against Manchester City in Champions League is his most important to date
- Tottenham host Manchester City in the Champions League on Tuesday night
- The first-leg is the opening European game at Tottenham’s new stadium
- Mauricio Pochettino says it is ‘one of the most important games’ of his career
- It is Pochettino’s first quarter final in Europe’s premier club competitionÂ
Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino admits Tuesday night’s crunch Champions League clash against Manchester City is the biggest of his managerial career.
Spurs welcome Pep Guardiola’s side to the new stadium for their Champions League quarter-final first leg clash on Tuesday.
And Pochettino acknowledges the encounter, his first quarter final in European football’s premier club competition, will be the most significant of his career so far.
Mauricio Pochettino believes Tuesday’s clash is the biggest of his managerial career
Pochettino overlooks Tottenham training on the eve of the Champions League first-leg
‘Is it the biggest? Yes, as a coach yes. This will be one of the most important games,’ said the Argentine.
‘For us, it’s a bonus to be here to have the possibility to play in the quarter-finals with all the circumstances. I think it’s a massive bonus for us, but we are going to try to beat them.
‘The objective is to be in the semi-final. That will be tough because Manchester City are a very, very good team and, of course, we respect them.
‘It’s going to be tough, the games against them.’ Forward Heung-min Son believes what is certain to be an electric atmosphere at Tottenham’s new stadium could give his side the edge on Tuesday.
City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne was quoted as saying the recently opened Tottenham Hotspur Stadium would not have a bearing on the encounter.
Heung-min Son is expecting a big atmosphere at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Tuesday
‘I don’t care about the stadium,’ De Bruyne said.
‘I care about the team we play. Everybody talks about the stadium like it’s something special. Everybody has a stadium. Everybody has supporters. They’ll be up for it. They’ll probably be a little bit more excited but in the end it’s a stadium with supporters.
‘If they go to Wembley with 80,000 or there with 62,000, it’s going to be the same. It’ll be a tough game but I think we’ll be all right.’ But Son added: ‘Of course it can help, we take these plus points. Maybe the City players don’t realise because they always play at home, but we’ve nearly had two years away from our home stadium.
‘What we have done in the last two years was very positive but we missed home a lot and we can show them tomorrow night the difference between Wembley and our new stadium.’
Kevin De Bruyne isn’t concerned about the impact Tottenham’s new stadium could have