Mauricio Pochettino has refused to rule out he may manage Tottenham again in the future, as he prepares to face his former club for the first time as Chelsea manager on Monday night.
The Argentine spent five-and-a-half years at Spurs, reaching the 2019 Champions League final less than six months before being sacked.
Pochettino will be in the visitors’ dugout when Chelsea make the trip to north London on Monday after taking over at Stamford Bridge in the summer and admitted he ‘cannot guess’ what kind reception awaits him at Tottenham.
The 51-year-old has been linked with a return to Spurs on several occasions since his left Spurs our years ago and hinted he may manage the club again at some point in the future.
‘It’s like life, you never know what is going to happen tomorrow,’ he said.
Mauricio Pochettino has refused to rule out he may manage Tottenham again in the future
‘We need to enjoy today and not look too much in the future. But, for sure, if I’m not working, [and] maybe if they want me one day […] why not?’
Spurs developed into a top-four regular under Pochettino and played some exhilarating football under his watch, but trophies remained frustratingly elusive.
Tottenham lost both of the finals they reached under Pochettino, who six months after being sacked by Spurs chairman Daniel Levy revealed he was determined to return at the club to win a trophy.
For now, however, the former Argentina international is solely focussed on Chelsea and insisted he wanted to beat his former club and would celebrate if the Blues were to win on Monday night.
‘I want to win, I want to beat them,’ he added.
‘When I play with my kids I want to beat them of course, or my dad or my brothers or my friends – I try to kill them.’
At the same time, the former Paris Saint-Germain boss acknowledged after only four months at Stamford Bridge his relationship with Chelsea fans is yet to reach the heights he enjoyed with their Spurs counterparts.
‘I hope we can arrive on the same level that I had at Tottenham because then it would mean we are doing really well here,’ he said.
Pochettino took Spurs to the Champions League final in 2019 (above) but was sacked by Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy (right) six months later
But Pochettino also insisted he would not go out of his way to win over Chelsea fans on Monday night.
‘I cannot say I forget all the things [at Tottenham], that would be stupid,’ he continued.
‘I’m going to be natural and show every game that I want to win.
‘And at the same time I want to enjoy being at a place I was part of the process of creating something special there. I am really calm and I want to enjoy and hope for a good night for us.’