Mauricio Pochettino Has Lost 3 Straight Games for the First Time as Tottenham Manager
Mauricio Pochettino has seen his Tottenham side lose three successive games against Watford, Liverpool and now Inter, the latter the result of last ditch comeback sealed deep into stoppage time by the returning Italian giants to win 2-1.
Pochettino was in no mood for pleasant analysis after the game, accusing the media of being disrespectful him in the post-match press conference after enquiring as to the reasons behind his rotated team selection.
"Sometimes you behave like you ask me with your question, that you can play only 11, and the other 13 or 14 players are rubbish," he was quoted as saying by BBC Sport.
"When my decision is to play with an XI, you must respect my decision because I am the manager. I don't understand. Sorry. It is so painful to hear when some people are not here, and you judge in that way, and you kill players who give their best."
Other than the very late manner of the defeat, perhaps one reason why the Spurs boss was so prickly is that he is simply not used to it seeing as it has been a very long time since he last experienced three consecutive losses.
It is not something that has ever previously happened during his four years with the north London club and you have to go back to his spell in charge of Southampton to find the last team managed by Pochettino that suffered three straight defeats.
That run came back in late February and early March of 2014, four-and-a-half years ago.
The Saints of the Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana and Luke Shaw era were narrowly knocked out of the FA Cup by Sunderland in mid-February, before going to lose away at West Ham, a game in which Matt Jarvis, Carlton Cole and Kevin Nolan all scored for the Hammers.
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The third defeat of that run then saw Raheem Sterling, Luis Suarez and Steven Gerrard find the net in a 3-0 win for a title challenging Liverpool side at St Mary's.
Desperate to break this run, Pochettino's Tottenham travel to Brighton's Amex Stadium, a venue at which Manchester United have already been beaten this season, for their next fixture.
The last time Pochettino lost four games back-to-back was when he was Espanyol boss in the latter stages of the 2011/12 La Liga season. Spurs, meanwhile, haven't lost four consecutive games since the spring of 2004 over 14 long years ago in a run of Premier League fixtures against Manchester United, Southampton, Chelsea and Everton.
