Gus Poyet spent three seasons with Tottenham as a player, then served as Juande Ramos' assistant. The former midfielder from Uruguay now coaches Jeonbuk in Korea, but still follows his former side closely.
In an interview with Flashscore, Poyet talks about the current situation at Spurs under Ange Postecoglou and the challenges of managing the side under Daniel Levy.
Tottenham has struggled significantly under Ange Postecoglou in the Premier League this season. It’s their worst season since the Premier League was established in 92/93 and their worst in general since 76/77 when they were relegated. What’s gone wrong with Spurs and do you think they can still turn it around?
"I think the football that Ange Postecoglou brought to Tottenham was exciting. I watched him in his first season. I have plenty of friends there and I said to them: 'You’re going to enjoy it, but I don’t know if you’re gonna win', because all the games were finishing 4-2, 5-3, so a very open style of play.
"I can’t see my team and players play that high on the pitch, but I like different styles, it was impressive. I believe that kind of style could work long-term if you can maintain the players to be fit. But with the Spurs it was a nightmare - a lot of injuries."
Especially in the defense with Romero and Davies out…
"Yes, if you think about the team, they’ve got Bentancur, Son, Maddison, an incredible group of people, the problem is that they never get to play at full strength. So, in the Premier League it was a disaster of a season.
"But they are in the final. And knowing the Spurs fans if they win, they will forget about the Premier League, they won’t care if they’re 17th.
"But if they lose though, it will be impossible for Ange Postecoglou to continue. I hate to say it, because I want the coach to stay long and to work as long as he knows, but I know Daniel Levy very well, I know the Spurs fans, so it will be difficult to accept. But he has a great opportunity tonight.
"I’ll add something more important. He said six months ago: 'I always win a trophy'. So when people ask me about him, I reply: 'Let’s wait, who knows…'
"I was there as an assistant during the last cup in 2008, and we were joking with Juande Ramos when we left Spurs. 'Ok, let’s see when they are going to win another cup..." three, four, five, six, eight...10 years? 14 years? I didn’t expect Tottenham to go so long without winning a trophy.
"I hope Ange can have as many players fit as possible, so he can have a chance to win the cup."
Since you mentioned Levy, what is the biggest challenge when managing Tottenham? There were many great managers recently at the wheel - Mourinho, Conte etc. - and none of them enjoyed big success. How tough is it for a manager to cope with Daniel Levy?
"I think that from the financial perspective he took the club to an incredible level. It wasn’t an easy thing to create what he created and it’s amazing. The training ground, I was lucky to visit a couple of years ago and it’s top class. And their new stadium is the best in England. So you have to manage the two sides of the game - maintaining the same type of expenditure towards the team is difficult.
"Unfortunately in football, and Tottenham and Levy are no exception, the same goes for other clubs like Chelsea, United and others - they think changing the coach is the solution. We don’t play, I promise you. We, the coaches, handle teams in different ways - motivation, tactical aspects, special vision, formations or whatever, but in the end we don’t play and we’re not magicians.
"The situation with Spurs is that they’ve been thinking for many years that the problem is the coach. But it’s not. Because if you want to lift a trophy you don’t sack Mourinho 10 days before a final. So there’s a bit of overthinking and also a clash of characters and ego involved.
"So if Ange leaves? I hope he doesn't, but the best one to replace him would be Pochettino. He knows the squad. He knows exactly what he needs to tell to Daniel Levy, to have three or four seasons for himself. But now, Poch is with the national team of the US, and the World Cup is in the US."
How weird is it to see two Premier League teams that are next to the relegated ones in the current standings facing off in the UEL final? Can we take it as the settling argument for the PL being the best league in the world, or it’s just a matter of circumstances?
"I think it is, probably not because of this reason, but it is the best league in the world for me. Every week it’s a different story and you prepare to compete against everyone. What’s really bad for football, and I mean that, is that two teams that are so low in the table can reach an European final.
"In terms of the finalists' positions in the league, it’s probably the worst European final, we have to go back and check, but we never see both teams in the bottom 10 of the table. But we’re talking about two massive clubs in their worst seasons in history in the Premier League playing a final, being able to win a trophy, which shows there’s something wrong in there, I don’t know what it is, but it’s not normal.
"Or it could be, with respect to everyone, that in the back of the mind of the players, and probably in the staff too, because they are doing so badly in the league, the only salvation is the European Cup. That’s part of football.
"I’ve explained to my players too - 'How many people have said to us during our days - come on, boys, concentrate on today's game! You play at home against a rubbish team and then three days later you play Milan in the Champions League.'
"But they want you to concentrate today? Yeah, right."
How much of the 'European DNA' and winning experience will come into play tonight? On paper United should have an edge in that regard…
"Experience helps before the game. I’ll give you a personal example from my career - I hadn’t played too many finals until I was in Zaragoza. Then we went to the Copa del Rey final and we lost to Real Madrid.
"In the following year we made it to the final again, which was very rare for Zaragoza to be in two in a row. But then we played Celta Vigo, we were the favorites and we needed to win.
"I played most of the season, a full 90 minutes, no problem. But during the final I got cramps. It wasn’t because I wasn’t fit; it was the tension, the responsibility. So it depends on the players and how they will take it.
"I think some of the United players are in the better position in that sense, but I think it will be a matter of which team, as a group, will realise that opportunity, that one opportunity that is left.
"It’s gonna be a team thing, it won’t be one player to decide it. On a day that both teams play their best, I prefer Tottenham."
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