Levy must show he's learnt his lesson from end of the Pochettino era

AS Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino prepares to return to Tottenham for the first time, he might reflect that in different circumstances he could easily be taking a familiar seat in the home dugout on Monday night

- Dan Kilpatrick

Pochettino was open to a return to his former club at the start of the summer but Daniel Levy, the Tottenham chairman, ignored clamour from fans to reinstate the popular Argentine, who eventually accepted a call from Spurs’ bitter rivals Chelsea.

Levy faced heat from Spurs’ supporters during almost every game in the latter half of last season, as the club’s uncomfortable marriage with Antonio Conte unravelled towards a messy divorce, and rehiring Pochettino would have been the simplest way for the chairman to claw back a degree of support from a fanbase which appeared to have definitively turned against him.

Instead, Levy opted for Ange Postecoglou, a 58-year-old Australian who had never managed in one of Europe’s top leagues and was relatively unknown on this side of the Scottish border back in June.

It is far too early to assume “the rest is history” but the decision is working out remarkably well for top-of-the-table Spurs, particularly considering Chelsea’s patchy form has only continued under Pochettino.

Spurs could open up a 17-point gap over their rivals with a win in north London on Monday.