The Red Devils saw their Champions League campaign end at the group stages following a 3-2 defeat at the hands of VfL Wolfsburg on Tuesday night.
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Europa League football may harm United’s Premier League prospects too, with Thursday night fixtures notoriously hard to juggle with domestic matches. “If you’re out of a competition, you’re going to get critics, they’re going to start saying stuff”.
“We are at home and I would not have thought they will fancy it but it will be an experience for most of their players”, he told the BBC.
“I’ve got to think about tomorrow, the day after and doing my job and how that can affect the players on Sunday”. It is true it can affect your game.
United’s exit continues a worrying trend for English teams, who have struggled in recent years to keep pace with Europe’s elite.
Pochettino says there can be “no excuses” for English clubs’ failures in the Champions League and is hoping his side can capitalise on their rivals’ struggles.
“The teams around the bottom, the gap is bigger to improve”.
But you already knew that and have been screaming, “what about the Premier League’s coefficient” at the TV for days..
Where United have been used to iconic venues and all the trimmings that go with the Champions League, Spurs’ last excursion in Europe was a six-hour flight to face Qarabag in Azerbaijan.
“In France, the gap between [leaders] Paris Saint-Germain and second place is 10 or 12 points, [so] they can afford to rest players at the weekend”.
“It’s a big, big difference”, said Pochettino, whose Tottenham can win its Europa League group if it draws with Monaco on Thursday.
Nabil Bentaleb and Nacer Chadli are both available after recovering from foot and ankle injuries respectively but Mousa Dembele is out as he is sick.
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“I’m thinking about Sunday’s game [against Eibar] in the league, I’m thinking about recuperation, recovery and making sure the players are well prepared for Sunday”.
