LONDON, March 24 (Reuters) – U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino says he misses coaching in England and wants to return to the Premier League in the future.
The 54-year-old Argentine is preparing to lead the co-hosts at this year’s World Cup finals but his name is being linked to former club Tottenham Hotspur.
Relegation-threatened Tottenham will be looking for a new permanent coach next season after sacking Thomas Frank in February and installing Igor Tudor on an interim basis.
“I love the country, its culture, the football culture,” Pochettino said in an interview with French newspaper L’Equipe.
“For anyone with a competitive spirit who wants to measure themselves against others and test their abilities, it’s the ideal place. You have to constantly give your best.”
Pochettino has had three spells in the Premier League starting with Southampton before five years at Tottenham during which they became regular top-four finishers and reached the 2019 Champions League final. He also had one season at Chelsea.
After parting ways with Tottenham in 2019 he took charge at Paris St Germain in 2021 but said he was approached by the London club after six months in the French capital.
“Not just Tottenham. Other very big clubs too. When that six-month season ended, there was a bit of, with the whole COVID situation, the club situation created instability,” he said.
“I enjoyed my experience at PSG. But I had other options, which I shared with the club, but they chose not to listen to any of them.”
Pochettino was a Tottenham target when they sacked Ange Postecoglou at the end of last season, but at the time said a return to north London was not realistic.
Tottenham are one point above the Premier League relegation zone with seven games remaining and Tudor has earned them a single point from his first five league games in charge.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman, editijng by Ed Osmond)
