Mauricio Pochettino has lavished praise on Southampton ahead of his Tottenham Hotspur side’s meeting with the club on Saturday.
The Argentine left St Mary’s to join Spurs in 2014, and clearly still holds plenty of affection for his former employers.
Pochettino, as quoted by Football London, spoke to the media in his pre-match press conference on Thursday, and was quick to hail Southampton as ‘amazing’.
He said:
It will be a very tough game, Southampton are a very good team. I feel special things for Southampton, my former club, my first club in England; they gave me the opportunity to be in England, learn English, be in this amazing country, be part of this best league in the world.
I can only say amazing things about Southampton. They have very good players, a great manager and they are doing a fantastic job and it’s going to be tough.
Read Southampton’s verdict
Pochettino has always spoken highly of Southampton, and it’s easy to see why. The club helped him emerge as one of the Premier League’s most exciting managers, and he implemented a hugely attractive brand of football at St Mary’s.
Saints moved to the next level under his successor Ronald Koeman, but it is hard to think of a period in which the team played more appealing, intense football than under Pochettino.
He is now among the best managers in world football and has done a marvellous job at Tottenham despite their recent struggles.
Koeman may have had more success at Southampton, but Pochettino has gone on to become one of the finest coaches the Premier League has to offer, and Saints were fortunate to have enjoyed 18 positive months under the boss.
