Tottenham’s loss to Newcastle last season saw them slip to third.
Newcastle’s Chancel Mbemba in action with Tottenham’s Harry Kane
After an impressive 2015/16 season, Tottenham Hotspur ended the campaign on the worst possible note.
They were hammered 5-1 away at Newcastle United in a humiliating display against a relegated side, allowing Arsenal to pip them to second place.
The result was a freak one, with Tottenham’s players simply hitting the wall at the end of a long season, with key men Dele Alli and Moussa Dembele suspended.
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino
Head coach Mauricio Pochettino has been speaking for the first time about how chairman Daniel Levy reacted to the loss.
He told The Independent: “His reaction was so supportive, it was very good. I know him and he knows me too. I was so upset and so he gave me a few days with no messages and no calls and then he came to see me, face-to-face.
“He was supportive. And he said to me: ‘I know very well that you are so upset. And that is why I do not want to disturb you. But now we can speak because now – after two days – we are a little bit more relaxed.’ It was good. It was easy for him to blame me or the team, but he was very supportive.”
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino and chairman Daniel Levy before the match
It was certainly easier for both men that there was little lost by slipping from second to third, as opposed to going from fourth to fifth and missing out on the Champions League.
Levy has not seen eye to eye with all of Tottenham’s managers through the years, yet his working relationship with Pochettino seems like one of the most productive.
It helps that Pochettino may just be the best head coach he has appointed, and it is because of the terrific progress he has helped the team make, that Levy is understanding and sympathetic when there is an occasional set back.
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