LONDON • Tottenham's bid to gazump Manchester City and Liverpool to the Premier League title suffered a blow, after manager Mauricio Pochettino admitted it would be "tough" for the club to move into their new stadium this season.
Spurs are committed to playing at Wembley until March 2, when they host Arsenal in the north London derby, after which they have five league games left in the campaign.
While Spurs had hoped to open their 62,062-capacity ground on Sept 15 against Liverpool, they were forced to delay its opening after issues with the critical safety systems. The delays have helped to push up the cost of the facility to more than £850 million (S$1.4 billion).
At his press conference ahead of their home league game against Leicester today, he said: "My gut feeling (is that it is not ready), but I hope and I wish to be in the new stadium playing.
"My wish, my hope and my dream is to finish this season playing in the new stadium. We'll see if you can trust more in my gut or the capacity to finish the stadium before the end of the season."
Although Spurs have a deal to use Wembley for the rest of the term, fans have increasingly shown their reluctance to attend the venue.
The 29,164 attendance in the 2-1 win over Watford on Jan 30 was their lowest of the season.
Pochettino said that he understood their frustration, revealing he also wanted to leave Wembley as soon as possible.
The Argentinian said: "The people are going to be disappointed to play at Wembley, not because they don't like Wembley - we all love Wembley - but because we expect to already play in our new stadium.
"Did you see the last few games how many people were there? 30,000. I want to play in front of 60,000 - not 30,000.
"The 60,000 people in the stadium always help you to achieve three points and, for the fans, it's going to be a massive boost. That's going to translate to the team."
The 46-year-old also voiced his unhappiness at the league for not being more accommodating ahead of the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie at home to Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday.
The German Bundesliga leaders have an extra day of rest as they played their league game against Hoffenheim yesterday, which Pochettino called "a massive disadvantage".
He told the BBC: "We are not receiving help. The Premier League must care about teams involved in the competition.
"In another country like Spain, Germany, France, clubs involved (in the Champions League) can be helped - the league is going to help you arrive in the best condition."
THE TIMES, LONDON
TOTTENHAM V LEICESTER
Singtel TV Ch102 & StarHub Ch227, 9.30pm
Spurs hope to be in new stadium 'before Christmas', says Pochettino Pochettino hails Tottenham's European progress. Champions League: Pochettino confident Kane will face Madrid.
Mauricio Pochettino urges Spurs to fight for title and
Pogba spot kicks help United 'get away with it' LONDON • Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admitted Manchester United "got away with it" after West Ham, 2-1 losers to a pair of Paul Pogba penalties, were on the end of a series of questionable officiating decisions.
Latest OLE GUNNAR SOLKSJAER | The Straits Times
Tunisian club win African title after final abandoned over VAR (video assistant referee) system was not working, but the players seemingly did not know. forward Lucas Pratto during their
Tunisian club win African title after final abandoned over
Jun 05, 2019 · Violent England fans an embarrassment to the team and not welcome, says FA • Fans cause mayhem in Porto before Nations League game • Police baton-charge supporters after bottles are hurled
Football: Violent England fans in Portugal an embarrassment
sports-life-news.com/soccer/football-violent-england-fans-in-portugal-an-embarrassment-to-team-and-not-welcome-says-fa/
"The FA strongly condemns the scenes witnessed in Porto overnight," a spokesman said. "Anyone responsible for these disturbances cannot be seen as true England supporters and are not welcome in football. "They are an embarrassment to the team and the thousands of well-behaved fans who follow England in the right way.
Football: Violent England fans in Portugal an embarrassment
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says Manchester United are not scared of playing the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final against at the Camp Nou after drawing Barcelona on Friday. United were originally drawn to play at Barcelona in the first leg, which would have given them the safety net of
Manchester United vs Barcelona: Sergio Busquets should have
bigsportsnews.com/soccer/manchester-united-vs-barcelona-sergio-busquets-should-have-been-sent-off-says-ole-gunnar-solskjaer/
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was disappointed that Sergio Busquets was not sent off during Manchester United's 1-0 defeat by Barcelona on Wednesday night. United have another mountain to climb in this year's Champions League after losing the home leg of their quarter-final tie against the Catalans.
Solskjaer aims to replicate spirit of '99 at Manchester United
Memphis Depay dazzled for the Netherlands with a brace and two assists as they cruised past Belarus 4-0 in their opening Euro 2020 qualifier on Thursday despite having to play the final 20 minutes
Depay fires Dutch past Belarus in Euro 2020 qualifying opener
The Dave Ramsey Show (Hour 2 Hosted By Rachel Cruze) The Dave Ramsey Show LIVE 1,197 watching Live now
Captain Cobra Unfinished business 2 - YouTube
Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu was naturally disappointed that his side missed out on a winning a fifth Asian Cup title on Friday but believes the improvement of the squad augurs well for the future. The Samurai Blue went into the final as warm favorites to clinch the continental crown but…
Japan coach disappointed but pleased with progress at Asian Cup
Thierry Henry was suspended by Monaco on Thursday and looked set to lose his job as coach after only three months in charge at the Ligue 1 club. "Monaco have decided to suspend Thierry Henry
Madrid (AFP) - A Spanish court on Wednesday acquitted former Barcelona president Sandro Rosell, who spent nearly two years in pre-trial custody, of money laundering. Rosell, his wife and four others, were accused of "large-scale money laundering" of close to 20 million euros ($23 million) since 2006, relating to television rights and
Spain court acquits former FC Barcelona president of money
worldsoccertalk.com/2019/04/24/spain-court-acquits-former-fc-barcelona-president-of-money-laundering/
Madrid (AFP) - A Spanish court on Wednesday acquitted former Barcelona president Sandro Rosell, who spent nearly two years in pre-trial custody, of money laundering. Rosell, his wife and four others, were accused of "large-scale money laundering" of close to 20 million euros ($23 million) since 2
The Premier League's quest to find a new chief executive to replace Richard Scudamore continues. Reports yesterday claimed that LaLiga president Javier Tebas was under consideration, but LaLiga has issued a firm denial: "We are not aware of this supposed interest. That said, if a competition as
LaLiga 'unaware' of rumours that Tebas is being lined up for
Gareth Bale has been named as a substitute for Real Madrid's Champions League last-16 second leg against Ajax on Tuesday. The Welshman's future at the Santiago Bernabeu has been the subject of intense scrutiny in recent weeks, reaching a crescendo in Saturday's 1-0 defeat to Barcelona.
Man City's De Bruyne upbeat as he bids to put injuries behind him Kevin De Bruyne's timely return to action for Manchester City is a major boost for Pep Guardiola as his team brace for a
Premier League: Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne upbeat as
0 comments:
Post a Comment