OPINION
Mauricio Pochettino appeared to downplay the importance of winning the FA Cup ahead of their meeting with Rochdale on Sunday, and the Tottenham manager is spot on with his comments.
The Argentinian boss suggested that Spurs needed to aim higher with their ambitions and target Champions League and Premier League success in the future, as lifting the FA Cup changes nothing.
The manager was asked about the competition with his side set to face League One opposition in the fifth round of the tournament on Sunday.
“To win some domestic titles is very good for us and would be fantastic for our fans, but really nothing changes,” said Pochettino, as quoted by the Daily Mail.
“If you say, ‘Tottenham are playing well but it is nothing if you don’t win’ — that is not true.
“People pay to enjoy their team playing well, if it takes one year, two years, five years, we are going to win (major trophies) one day.”
These comments while showing Pochettino’s confidence in his side, as he believes they are capable of winning major honours, will no doubt worry Tottenham supporters.
Spurs fans have gone 10-years without winning a trophy and silverware, no matter the competition, is the currency of success.
However despite this being the case, Pochettino is right to undermine what winning the FA Cup means.
It’s a sad state of affairs when English football’s number one knockout tournament doesn’t indicate that a club is successful, but that’s certainly the way it has seemed in recent years.
Pochettino’s reluctance to focus on the FA Cup is justified by the lack of respect bitter rivals Arsenal have been given in recent seasons.
Gunners fans have called for Arsene Wenger to be sacked, moaned about not finishing in the top-four and generally acted like their club doesn’t know the meaning of the word success.
But Arsenal have won three FA Cups in the last four seasons.
Even though they have done that they’re not seen as successful during this period, which says all you need to know about how the tournament is viewed.
Therefore while Spurs fans would no doubt love to hear Pochettino say that Tottenham are going all out to win the FA Cup, the Argentinian manager is right to suggest that winning it would have no real affect on how the club is viewed.