Pochettino's return to Tottenham illustrates how far Chelsea have still to go

Sunt Pa Pochettino could do with a win to make the outlook that bit brighter Getty)

- MIGUEL DELANEY

There was always an obstacle, though. Although it seemed like many elements might have been aligning to bring Pochettino back to White Hart Lane, both the manager and Spurs sensed it probably wasn’t right to go back.

The approach never came from either side. That left a lot of Spurs fans disappointed, and then feeling betrayed when he went to Chelsea. Such emotion was probably why the response to Ange Postecoglou’s arrival was so muted.

Had the Australian not defied every single argument against his appointment, the response for Pochettino on tonight might have been worse. A long-term sense of dissatisfaction might have fed into a resentment and angry reception. As it is, the mood at Tottenham is totally different. They’re loving Ange instead.

Postecoglou has probably made Spurs feel their most content since around 2017, which was just about the peak of Pochettino’s period. The qualification for the Champions League final two years later of course brought a far more profound jubilation, but it was the end of the journey rather than the start. There wasn’t quite that excitement about what might be possible. That is precisely what Spurs are feeling now, for the first time in a long time.

It reflects what should have been the main lesson from Pochettino’s period but took a long time to sink in. For all the allure of big names, a team is obviously much better set if the manager’s profile matches that of the club. It inherently brings full focus, rather than complaints about where they are or what they do. The latter is what happened with Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte. They were used to the wealthiest institutions so behaved that way.