Thu 10 May 2018, 02:00
Tottenham HotspurMauricio Pochettino paid tribute to players, staff and fans after a hard-fought 1-0 win against Newcastle on Wednesday night clinched a place in the Premier League’s top four and secured Champions League football next season.
Harry Kane curled home the goal that mattered – his 28th in the Premier League, 39th in all competitions this season – five minutes into the second half at Wembley.
It was far from plain sailing against a Newcastle team that put us under pressure and created chances but as news filtered through of Chelsea being held at home by Huddersfield, we saw the game out for the three points that took us above Liverpool into third and sealed a place in the top four.
We will now take our place in the Champions League for the third-successive season and proudly host Champions League football at our world-class new stadium next season.
We're in next season's @ChampionsLeague! #COYSpic.twitter.com/Kp9UHkmavz
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) May 9, 2018
“It's a fantastic achievement,” said Mauricio. “I want to say 'thank-you' to the players, first of all, because they have worked so hard to achieve this and big congratulations to our staff and everyone at Tottenham Hotspur Football Club.
“It has been a difficult season for the fans and they deserve big credit too.
“We knew about Chelsea (drawing) - Toni (Jimenez, goalkeeping coach) was telling me.
“It was difficult - it always is in the Premier League, there are no easy games as we’ve seen in the last few weeks - and the effort has been fantastic all season.
“It’s never easy when you have the pressure to win and play against a team that is free to run and make mistakes and play so deep, like Newcastle. In the end it’s job done and again, I congratulate the players."
