Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino insists the Premier League is worse off without Jose Mourinho but believes ‘The Special One’ will be replaced by ‘The Crazy One’ if his former coach Marcelo Bielsa takes charge at Swansea.
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Pochettino knows Bielsa well, having played under him for Argentina, Espanyol and Newell’s Old Boys, and the 60-year-old is now favourite to land the vacant position at the Liberty Stadium. Bielsa, who unexpectedly left Marseille in August, is known for his intense training sessions and unusual tactics.
“He is good because maybe we will miss the Special One so maybe now we will have the Crazy One,” Pochettino, whose Spurs side travel to Southampton on Saturday, said.
“It is a pleasure for me if he comes because he is one of the best managers in the world. He is like my father in both ways because he is 60 years old so he can be my father and he is also like my football father. I know him since I was 14 and I arrived at Newell’s Old Boys.
Quite torn over the prospect of Bielsa to Swansea. It’d be *so* entertaining, but would blow up in their faces pretty quickly
— Andy Brassell (@andybrassell) December 15, 2015
“It is a great opportunity for him but I don’t know if it’s true or not as I haven’t spoken to him for a while.”
Elsewhere, Stoke are hopeful Xherdan Shaqiri can return from a hamstring strain to face Crystal Palace. The Swiss international missed the 0-0 draw against West Ham and will undergo a fitness test.
Cheick Tiote will return to the Newcastle squad for their match against Aston Villa as the Magpies go in search of a third straight win.
West Brom face a match with inform Bournemouth – a test manager Tony Pulis believes will be “more difficult” than their trip to Liverpool last weekend.
Pulis said: “Bournemouth are well coached, they defend well and have a way of scoring and working situations out to score goals and win games.”
