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Tottenham boss demands help from England FA in quest for Euro glory

Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino urged English football authorities to help the country's clubs in the Champions League as his side prepared to tackle Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday night for a place in the quarter-final.

Mauricio Pochettino is trying to lead Tottenham Hotspur into the last eight of the Champions League for the first time since 2011.
Mauricio Pochettino is trying to lead Tottenham Hotspur into the last eight of the Champions League for the first time since 2011. Reuters/Hannah McKay
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Tottenham go into the second leg of their last 16 tie at the Signal Iduna Park with a 3-0 lead.

But despite the hefty advantage, Pochettino complained about the lack of recuperation time for his men who played against Arsenal on Saturday afternoon while Dortmund took on Augsburg on Friday night.

"It's not fair to play with a massive disadvantage," said Pochettino. "We need help from the FA and the Premier League – for us it's impossible.

"We played a Premier League game on a Sunday before the first leg, which was on a Wednesday, when Dortmund played Saturday. Now we played on Saturday and Dortmund played on Friday.

"I don't know if the FA or the Premier League are to blame or television, who wanted us to play live Saturday or Sunday."

Change

"In Europe, the people are more sensitive to helping their clubs prepare for Europe, that's my point. I want us to have the same amount preparation time as our opponents.

"We need to change it in the future to help English clubs be stronger in the competition."

Spurs are seeking a place in the last eight for the first time since 2011.

England skipper Harry Kane is expected to lead the Spurs attack while Pochettino said Harry Winks and Eric Dier could feature after injuries.

Pochettino, who has been linked with jobs at Manchester United and Real Madrid, says Spurs must forget their 3-0 first-leg win at Wembley and maintain their composure against a Dortmund team which has only won once in seven games.

"It's a great opportunity to go to the next round but we need a good performance," said Pochettino. "It's going to be difficult. We know Dortmund are a good team and they are going to start aggressive and try to push us deeper.

"We need to be just as aggressive."

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