Skip to content

Pochettino accepts Tottenham overstepped the line at Chelsea

Dylan Martinez / Reuters

Even Mauricio Pochettino can acknowledge that nine yellow cards and one eye-poke was excessive.

On Friday, four days after Tottenham Hotspur surrendered the Premier League title to Leicester City by dropping points in a violent encounter at Chelsea, Pochettino conceded that the Spurs went too far at Stamford Bridge. But he did praise his players for going against the narrative of the north London club being "soft."

Although there were, inexplicably, no red cards issued as Tottenham played out a 2-2 draw against Chelsea, there were numerous scuffles, including one that saw Mousa Dembele, normally mild-mannered, gauge Diego Costa's eye.

Related: Tottenham's Dembele receives 6-match ban for eye-gouging

"It is a good improvement," Pochettino said, according to David Hytner the Guardian. "I hear in the last few years that, in the past, Tottenham were soft but now, we start to show character. We cross the line maybe, yes. I'm not stupid. It's important to manage better our energy for the next season and be sure we learn a lot.

"This season, we have showed we are not a nice team to play. Not anymore. Our opponents don't like to play against us. We showed passion. Maybe too much passion. But we need to take it in a positive way. We need to manage it in a better way and try to win the title (next season)."

Asked if all great clubs boast a nastiness, Pochettino didn't beat around the bush, saying: "Yes. If you want to win titles and keep your position for a long time in the future, you need to show passion. I understand my players and my staff and my supporters. This is football. We need to congratulate Leicester, they deserve it, they were the best team. And we need to learn and improve and fight again for the title. If you want to be a contender for the Premier League, some things like this happen."

Pochettino also admitted to having spoken with Dembele about "the incident," saying: "If you play with your friends for the honour or a beer or food, you want to win."

Tottenham welcomes Southampton at White Hart Lane on Sunday before closing out its Premier League season at Newcastle United one week later.

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox