Pochettino left the Saints in 2014 to join Spurs, and ahead of this weekend’s Premier League meeting, he made some emotional comments.
Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino will not be in the dugout for Saturday’s Premier League trip to Southampton due to suspension but he has nonetheless spoken fondly about his old club in Thursday’s pre-match press conference.
The Spurs boss spent a year and a half in charge of the Saints, leading them away from the relegation zone after taking over in January 2013, before finishing eighth in what turned out to be his only full season at St Mary’s.
Pochettino subsequently resigned as Southampton boss and, in May 2014, was unveiled as Tottenham boss on an initial five-year contract, replacing Tim Sherwood, who was dismissed earlier that month.
The rest, as they say, is history, with Poch turning Spurs into a side challenging for the Premier League title, reaching the knockout stages of the Champions League and overall doing better than Arsenal in recent years.
Nonetheless, Pochettino says it was not an easy decision to leave Southampton and admits he cried when he left the south coast outfit, as did his family.
“A lot of people were disappointed when I left the club and they are not going to forgive, but I still love them,” Pochettino is quoted by Sky Sports News as saying.
“In one year and a half I spent there, it was a great experience. For different circumstances that are difficult to understand, I left the club. I cried a lot when I left, my family too. It was one of the most important periods in my life.”
Contrary to what Poch said about Southampton fans not forgiving him, the Twitter reaction from some fans suggests the opposite:
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