Ray Parlour admits surprise at Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino’s comments on Spurs’ priorities

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Mauricio Pochettino hinted that Tottenham Hotspur’s priorities were the Premier League and Champions League rather than the cup competitions.

Ray Parlour has told The Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast on talkSPORT (broadcast on 19th September 2017; 6:10 am) that he was surprised to hear Mauricio Pochettino’s comments which seemingly suggested that the League Cup was low down on Tottenham’s list of priorities.

In comments reported by the London Evening Standard, Pochettino suggested that while he would love to win the League Cup or FA Cup, Spurs’ main targets centred around their progress in the Premier League and Champions League ahead of their Carabao Cup third round tie with Barnsley on Tuesday.

And Parlour has suggested that he was surprised to read the Tottenham boss’ comments, and added that, in the long-run, concentrating on winning the League Cup may prove extremely beneficial to achieving their goals of winning the league or Champions League.

“I’m really surprised he said that. And realistically, this season will they win the league? No chance. Realistically, will they win the Champions League? They did brilliant against Dortmund, great result, realistically, will they win it? Of course they can, but it’s unlikely,” he told The Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast on talkSPORT.

“They’ve got some good youngsters coming through so if you can get down to the quarter-finals, suddenly put a good side out, next minute you’re in the semi-finals of a cup competition,” he went on to add.

“I always say that the hardest cup to win as a group of players is the first one, if you can get that first one over the line, it becomes a winning habit, so ‘we can go next year, win maybe a bigger trophy than what we’ve won’, so I think these trophies are very important for Spurs.”

While the League Cup is widely accepted as being the least important of the trophies available to Tottenham and those battling for the same honours, Parlour’s point may perhaps resonate with the supporters who, while excited about the club’s future, feel they need to start winning trophies or they risk missing the boat.

Winning that first honour may boost Tottenham’s chances of winning more trophies further down the line. But it could also be understandable if Pochettino’s interest in the League Cup only intensifies when they reach the business end given that they have plenty of Premier League and Champions League fixtures on the horizon.