'Sad' Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino cannot agree with 'second father' figure Marcelo Bielsa in spygate storm

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR boss Mauricio Pochettino says he has been saddened by the Leeds United spygate saga and reluctantly admits father figure Marcelo Bielsa is wrong for spying on opposition training sessions.
FEELING SAD: Marcelo Bielsa's close ally Mauricio Pochettino.FEELING SAD: Marcelo Bielsa's close ally Mauricio Pochettino.
FEELING SAD: Marcelo Bielsa's close ally Mauricio Pochettino.

Pochettino has been a long term ally of Bielsa's with the Leeds head coach having handed the former defender his debut for Newell's Old Boys in Argentina in the late 1990s before also going on to manage Pochettino for Espanyol and the Argentina national team.

Having previously hailed Bielsa as like "a second father", the Spurs boss is keen to stress that his affection for Bielsa has not changed but the Tottenham chief says he cannot agree with spying on opposing teams.

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Bielsa admitted before last weekend's hosting of Frank Lampard's Derby County to sending a member of his footballing staff to Derby's training ground ahead of the Friday night Championship showdown at Elland Road.

The matter is now being investigated by both the FA and the EFL with Bielsa opting to hold a lengthy press conference on Wednesday to explain his actions and argue that he would gain little from the findings of one training session given his meticulous research and planning on every opponent.

Pochettino had previously said last week that spying was “not a big deal” and commonplace in Argentina, as Bielsa had already admitted.

But speaking at Friday's press conference ahead of Sunday's Premier League clash at Fulham, Pochettino said of the spygate saga: "It's a situation that makes me a little bit sad.

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"It's so important to split my special personal relationship with him and describe a situation that happened a week ago.

"Always my love is going to be with him.

"He was a person so important to me, to build my career as a player.

"We're talking about a situation that happened last week and I can't agree [with it].

"For me, it's wrong. I can understand Frank Lampard's feelings. It's a thing that's not easy to explain."

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Pochettino continued: "For me, always when I talk about England, about the organisation and culture you have here, since I signed for Southampton from six years ago today for any manager the key is to work in an environment you create.

"The English people and the culture you create in the past here gives you the opportunity to work in privacy that doesn't happen maybe in Germany or Argentina or Spain.

"That makes us feel more responsible to keep the idea that you can work, feel at home and you don't need to hide anything.

"There's many opinions we can listen to after last week. To be honest, my feeling is a little sad.

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"Rather than talking about football and how fantastic Leeds are doing in the Championship, we're talking about one fact that doesn't help the football. That's why the situation makes me a little bit sad. Of course it doesn't change my view about Marcelo but I can't agree with what happened."

Asked about Bielsa's detailed analytical press conference and if he did the same, Pochettino said: "Maybe more. I think any manager in the Premier League, Championship or League One, today the technology provides us with the tools to have a lot of information, any manager today, not only in England but around the world."