Chelsea v Spurs - Mauricio's preview
Mauricio Pochettino is confident the players will use the disappointment of defeat against Burnley to bounce back at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night.
It’s a decisive week of action with Chelsea followed by Arsenal at Wembley on Saturday (12.30pm) and then our Champions League Round of 16, second leg at Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday 5 March (8pm).
Mauricio conceded Saturday’s 2-1 loss at Turf Moor was a missed opportunity and while it still hurts, he knows we have no choice but to move on with this week’s derby double looming.
“I think we missed a massive opportunity to be in a better position and put pressure on the teams that are at the top,” said Mauricio. “It’s difficult to move on but we need to, we have to and we need to think about Chelsea.
“It’s going to be tough, a derby and we need to be ready to compete. Personally, I’m still disappointed and still feel the pain of the three points we lost at Burnley but you need to move on and translate good energy.
“Yesterday, I was involved in training more than normally and of course, the players feel disappointed, we all feel disappointed but we need to be ready for the next game because the competition doesn’t wait.
“Burnley was, for me, most important but now we can’t change that result or the performance. Now we need to start again at Chelsea.”
Chelsea took Manchester City all the way to penalties in the Carabao Cup Final on Sunday but ultimately lost the shoot-out at Wembley.
“It’s going to be a tough game,” added Mauricio. “After the defeat in the Carabao Cup Final they are back in front of their fans and they will want to win again.
“We need to be ready. For them it’s an important game and for us too. It will be a battle and we need to be ready to fight - our mentality is to go there and try to win.”