Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy: ‘Sacking Mauricio Pochettino was the hardest decision I’ve made’

- Spurs chief says personal relationship made call difficult - Argentine could return to the club in some capacity one day - 'Mourinho was the No1 candidate and will do an amazing job’ EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
Special memory | Mauricio Pochettino and Daniel Levy celebrate after Spurs reached last season’s Champions League Final
Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images
James Olley19 December 2019

Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy says sacking Mauricio Pochettino is the hardest managerial decision he has ever had to make and has left the door open to the former head coach returning to the club in some capacity one day.

Levy took the difficult decision to sack Pochettino last month after a five-year spell in which he established Spurs as top-four regulars and reached the Champions League Final in June.

The team had slumped to 14th in the Premier League after a poor run of domestic form stretching back throughout 2019 - taking 24 points from Pochettino’s final 25 matches.

Asked in the second part of an exclusive interview whether it was the hardest managerial change he has had to make, Levy told Standard Sport: “Yes, because you have to understand I had built up a personal relationship with Mauricio over five-and-a-half years.

“It is not something I ever wanted. Personally, it was incredibly difficult, I told him that and he understood. He’s been in football, he understands.

“It’s not personal and I’m sure he’ll come back stronger and get an opportunity to manage another great club.”

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Levy believes new boss Jose Mourinho will enjoy a long and successful spell in north London, saying the Portuguese was “absolutely the No1 candidate” for the job. But asked whether Pochettino could return to the club in the future, Levy said: “Why not? I don’t close the door on anything.”

Levy will not be drawn on his reasons for sacking Pochettino but he was in no doubt that change was necessary.

He said: “I’m not going to sit here and analyse the past. It’s not productive. Mauricio did a fantastic job, 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.

“But it is hard managing a club. The pressure these managers are under is immense. There aren’t many managers that manage a club for five years. [The longevity of Sir] Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger is very, very, very unusual.

“When they first started, the League wasn’t where it is today. It is so competitive and intense. I think it is very unlikely you are going to see a repeat of that. The Ferguson and Wenger eras are in the past.

“We are obsessed in this country with the longevity of the so-called ‘manager’, in Europe it is normal every two years to get someone else. It isn’t personal. They don’t even sign five-year contracts. They sign for two years and then another coach comes in.

Harry Kane and Jose Mourinho after Tottenham's dramatic 2-1 win away to Wolves last week Photo: AP
AP

“Mauricio and Jose are great coaches. They are different, they have different styles and Mauricio took us a long way.

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“He did an amazing job and I’m sure that Jose will do equally an amazing job in a different way.”

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