Mauricio: "I'm always positive. I'm an optimistic person"

Mauricio Pochettino welcomes the squad’s positive attitude of looking up, rather than behind them.

Last weekend’s win at Stoke made it six wins on the trot and 14 unbeaten in the Premier League and with Chelsea held at home by West Ham, we moved 10 points clear in fourth place with six games remaining.

The first of those matches is a fascinating clash against leaders City at Wembley on Saturday (7.45pm).

After the win, skipper Hugo Lloris stated: “There is still second place to play for and we will try our best to finish as high as we can in the table.”

Speaking to Spurs TV after training on Thursday, Mauricio told us: “That mentality is so important - that the most important game is the next.

“Of course, what happened in the past is important, but that’s done.

“I think we’ve improved that mentality in the season, always wanting more, focusing on the next game.

“It’s like during a game. What is the most important ball? The next one. What happened before is not important, it’s already done. That mentality is so important and we’ve stepped up this season.

“My feeling is always to be positive. I’m an optimistic person.

“I trust in my team and my players and I am sure we are going to give our best.

“In football, you know well that sometimes you can win, you can lose but if we are focused and we give your best, for sure we’ll be close because we have quality enough to beat any team.”

Asked in his press conference if the race for a place in the top four was over, Mauricio responded: “In football, never. Until you achieve what you want, it’s never over until the end.

“We need to keep pushing, winning games and this is a massive three points against Manchester City.

“There is still a lot of work to do until the end and you cannot underestimate clubs like Chelsea, Arsenal, big clubs that can win every game.

“You need to focus on winning games and winning points and when mathematically you achieve what you want, then it’s over. Until then, it’s impossible to think like that. Football can always surprise you."