Stan Collymore has backed Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino to be named Manager of the Year after his heroics in guiding the club to the last four of the Champions League.
Spurs face Ajax in the first leg of the semi-final Tuesday night, and Collymore believes it would take something special to beat the Argentine to the accolade if he can find a way past the Dutch giants into the final.
Writing in a column for the Mirror, he said: “There is no better manager in the Premier League than Mauricio Pochettino, and if he can lead Tottenham to the Champions League Final and a top-four finish, it’ll take something special from one of his rivals to pip him for the Manager of the Year award.
“I do wonder if Guardiola and Klopp would have achieved what Pochettino has in north London with their own clubs if they’d had the same limitations. Or if they could have done the same job he has done with the Spurs squad he inherited and the budgets he has had to work with.
“Whatever the answer, no one can argue that Pochettino hasn’t done a phenomenal job.”
OPINION
Collymore isn’t far off the mark on this one. Pochettino may not win any silverware this year, and there may have been spells where his side have stumbled through parts of their season, but bearing in mind the lack of funds available to him over the last two transfer windows, and taking into consideration the strength of Spurs’ closest rivals, it would a phenomenal achievement if they were to reach the final of the Champions League and maintain a top four finish. What sets Pochettino apart is his ability to improve players. People talk about Pep Guardiola doing the same, and he does, but if we’re being honest, the Spaniard takes world class players and makes them better. Poch takes good, promising players and makes them world class. That is why Spurs have been able to maintain their standards through a barren pair of windows, and that is why he is full deserving of the manage of the year award. Whether he actually wins it is a different kettle of fish entirely.