Former Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Kasey Keller believes that Mauricio Pochettino should have been allowed to keep his job – and suggested that the club may regret bringing in Jose Mourinho.
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Mourinho replaced Pochettino at the helm in November and while he has seen Tottenham become contenders for a top-four finish, the club’s recent form is arguably as indifferent as it was under Pochettino in the earlier months of the season.
Spurs remain six points adrift of fourth-placed Chelsea over the weekend of FA Cup fixtures, which was unable to bring Tottenham a first win in three after being held by second-tier Middlesbrough on Sunday.
Speaking on ESPN FC, former goalie Keller thinks Pochettino was harshly treated given his achievements as Spurs boss – and doesn’t feel Mourinho will necessarily bring the success his reputation may suggest.
He said: “Because you had that quick early blip when you went from 14th to sixth, it kind of gave you [the impression of] ‘okay, that’s fine’, but when you look at Spurs’ history over the last 30 years and what Pochettino was able to do with the budget that he had, the fact that he wasn’t given the benefit of the doubt…”
“I think most former Spurs players and most fans felt that he had built up enough equity to see if he could work his way out of that form.
“Will Mourinho have the resources that Mourinho is used to having with the clubs that he was at to build a Spurs team the way he wants to build it? I don’t think so. It’s going to be a tough task.
“I think Pochettino did tremendously well at the time that he was there.”
Without knowing the inside story of Pochettino’s sacking and Mourinho’s arrival, it is difficult to pinpoint exactly why Spurs made the decision to fire the man who took them to their first Champions League final.
Although, Keller’s frustrations would perhaps not be as vocal had Mourinho been able to deliver some better results during his short time as Spurs boss to date.
While the team have not won for three games in all competitions, their away day woes are continuing, having won just once on their travels since beating West Ham United in the manager’s opening game that ended a gap of over 10 months without an away league victory.
Therefore, there are still issues present from the days of Pochettino which makes Keller’s stance understandable, with Mourinho showing little evidence of being able to make the steps his predecessor could not so far.
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