Football
Dan Kilpatrick, Tottenham Correspondent 6y

Tottenham playing kids in FA Cup would avoid criticism - Mauricio Pochettino

Mauricio Pochettino has said he would earn less criticism by disregarding the FA Cup and playing Tottenham's young players next season.

Spurs suffered FA Cup semifinal heartache for the second consecutive season on Saturday, losing to Manchester United at Wembley Stadium to extend the club's trophy drought to a decade.

Pochettino has repeatedly played down the importance of winning the FA Cup but Saturday's defeat has led to fresh questions about Spurs' winning mentality and continued failure to win when it most matters.

It was suggested to Pochettino that he would face less scrutiny if he had played Spurs' youth team and suffered an early exit, and the Spurs manager agreed, adding: "I am thinking with Tottenham to play with kids the next time because [the criticism] is so unfair when you lose but that is my job to be criticised when we don't win."

Speaking after the 2-1 defeat to United at Wembley Stadium, Spurs temporary home for the season, he added: "The problem is the perception sometimes is not realistic. But maybe yes, next we will provide the possibility to play with kids and I'm sure it will be fantastic for experience and everything.

"Then we stop to arrive in this situation [of being questioned about not winning trophies]."

Eric Dier were again knocked out of the FA Cup in the semifinals on Saturday.">

Harry Kane continued to look subdued against United after being rushed back from an ankle injury earlier this month and Pochettino said the striker needed time to recover his best form.

"It's not easy after injury," Pochettino said. "Harry needs time to recover his best. He is OK. But, of course, the performance sometimes cannot be what we expect. Harry Kane, the whole season, cannot score every single game."

The manager has said that finishing in the top four is more important than FA Cup glory, but Spurs' gap with fifth-place Chelsea has been halved to five points in the last two matches.

Anything but a victory over Watford on Monday would open the door for Chelsea, buoyed by winning their FA Cup semifinal against Southampton on Sunday.

"Football can surprise you, but it's in our hands," Pochettino said. "We need to win the next four games and we need to be ready to compete. If you ask today, the players are disappointed. They are down. But tomorrow, move on."

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