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Mauricio Pochettino wants final return ‘as soon as possible’

Mauricio Pochettino kept tight-lipped about his future as Tottenham Hotspur manager after his side lost the Champions League final to Liverpool yesterday morning (Singapore time).

The Argentinian has been linked with a move to Italian champions Juventus and German giants Bayern Munich, reported AFP, but suggested he may stay to try to guide Spurs to another final after their 2-0 defeat in Madrid .

"When you live this experience, you want to do it again. I hope we can do it again in the future," Pochettino told BT Sport.

"It's about trying, it's about believing, it's about building, and I hope it happens again as soon as possible."

His captain Hugo Lloris, however, took a more pragmatic stance, saying: "I don't think that Tottenham are the type of club to challenge for the Champions League every season. We have to be honest about this statement.

"But one thing is sure, we are ambitious. We try to reduce the gap with the best teams in Europe step by step.

"In three years, we have shown a lot of improvement, development in the right direction."

Spurs fell behind to a Mohamed Salah penalty almost straight after kick-off but were the better side after the break before Divock Origi scored the decisive second.

Said Pochettino: "You never believe that after one minute you're going to be 1-0 down, a situation that not only changed our plans, it changed the dynamic (of the game)."

"I'm very proud with the effort, how we fight. We played so well, we played so well in the second half. I feel so proud, nothing to say."

Former Chelsea striker Tony Cascarino, however, had a lot to say about Pochettino, insisting that he "managed like a rookie" by starting Harry Kane, who had not played since early April. The striker had a quiet game.

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