Pochettino relishing 'special' return to Spurs

Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino insists his affection for Tottenham Hotspur will remain intact no matter what reception he receives on his return to the club -- and even joked that he considered wearing a disguise to watch his former team after leaving.

Pochettino was sacked by Tottenham in November 2019 after five-and-a-half years in charge, a tenure in which he transformed the club into top four regulars and led them to their first ever Champions League final.

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Speculation persisted that the 51-year-old could return to Spurs as manager following his exit from Paris Saint-Germain but as ESPN reported at the time, the club never made a formal approach and instead he joined London rivals Chelsea on an initial two-year contract.

"It is really special because to come back after four years where we create amazing memories together. It is special, I cannot lie," Pochettino said in his news conference ahead of his side's clash at Tottenham on Monday.

"I am not going to say nothing at the moment because until Monday you cannot guess what [reception] will happen there.

"The most important thing is people know we cannot forget all that we lived together, amazing memories there and then I am going to respect the people, how they are going to express [themselves].

"But it is not going to change my emotion, my view, my feelings about a club that has had an unbelievable journey."

Asked whether he had ever been back to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Pochettino replied: "No. Sometimes I was thinking to dress in a different way or during Covid to put on a mask but it was too risky. But I was thinking [this]."

Pochettino insisted there was no ill-feeling between himself and Spurs chairman Daniel Levy, who admitted when sacking the Argentine that he was "extremely reluctant" to do so.

"He is one of the most important people for me," Pochettino said. "He gave me and my coaching staff the possibility to be in Tottenham.

"After to be in that amazing journey, it was not only a professional relationship, it was also a friendly relationship. Too many memories together, nearly six years together, it is an amazing journey so [I would] only say thank you for being there working and experiencing great things like to be in the new stadium. [There was never contact about managing Spurs again] no.

"I think when after we finish our relationship with PSG, we wanted to be one year outside of football, away. And then arrived the offer and contact with Chelsea and we decided to move here."