Mauricio Pochettino has rejected Antonio Conte’s claim that Tottenham had an “advantage” over Chelsea in the Premier League title race.
Conte, who claimed the title in his first season in English football with a win over West Brom on Friday, claimed recently that likely runners-up Spurs had an “advantage” in the race.“I think that Tottenham have an advantage, if you compare Tottenham to Chelsea,” the Italian said.
“Tottenham last season fought to win the title and Chelsea finished 10th. You can see our transfer market and Tottenham’s transfer market.
“This is my first season and I found a lot of situations, a lot of players. Pochettino has been working there for three years and has changed a lot of players and is working very well.”
Pochettino laughed off the suggestion when asked on Friday.
“I understand him. It’s difficult for him because he was always a manager who liked to work with and to develop young talent,” he said.
“It’s difficult when you sign for a club like Chelsea and you have the pressure to win and you spend the money that they spent on David Luiz, Marcos Alonso, Batshuayi and [N’Golo] Kante. I totally understand but I don’t know if I agree with him that it’s an advantage.
“Arsene Wenger should win the league every season because he is 20 years in charge, if that is the right way to measure our advantage. I think it’s not fair to measure with me, as it is to measure with Wenger. Twenty years is a massive advantage. Why not win every season?
“It’s not a criticism [of Wenger]. It was not the best comment from him [Conte].”
