Mauricio Pochettino has already explained why a return to Tottenham would make sense after the club parted company with Antonio Conte.
Spurs are now on the lookout for a permanent boss after parting ways with Conte following his remarkable post-match press conference following the 3-3 draw with Southampton last weekend. The North London club confirmed Cristian Stellini will be their acting head coach for the remainder of the season, with Ryan Mason his assistant.
Pochettino, who coached Spurs for five-and-a-half seasons between 2014 and 2019, is among the favourites to replace Conte permanently in the dugout in the summer. The Argentine has been out of work since leaving Paris Saint-Germain at the end of last season.
Pochettino led the club to three successive top three league finishes – including second spot in the 2016/17 campaign – alongside guiding Spurs to their first ever Champions League final in 2019. He had previously been linked to the Manchester United job, but the club ultimately chose to appoint Erik ten Hag.
Pochettino subsequently spoke about that decision, suggesting that “timing” was a key reason for him not being in the Old Trafford hot seat. He was PSG boss when United were replacing Ole Gunnar Solskjaer with Rangnick in November 2021, whereas six months later the position of both had changed.
"Football is about timing," Pochettino explained on Radio Marca in November, when recalling his links to Old Trafford. "These are the moments for it to coincide and for that marriage to happen. Sometimes it’s just a matter of time.
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"I don’t believe in trains passing only once. I think that sometimes you have to have the necessary patience and you have to know how to wait. The ‘timing’ is handled by football, it is true that my name has always been associated with big clubs.
"I have a lot of respect for professionals and it’s hard for me to sell myself, that’s work for you. That routine that is generated when you are at work is created as a result of the adrenaline of day-to-day. You miss it.
"Now what we do is get together, zoom, eat with the family and talk about the great debates that we generate. That is missed. But at the same time, we do things that when you are immersed in the battle of work we cannot do. Being with family heals a lot."
