Mauricio Pochettino insists he is ready for return as he recalls his ‘painful’ Tottenham exit

Mauricio Pochettino has revealed he is ready to make his long-awaited return to management following his sacking by Tottenham a year ago.

Following his departure from Spurs, Pochettino has been linked with a number of European giants, with Real Madrid among those clubs reportedly eyeing up the Argentine boss.

And Pochettino has insisted that he is raring to go after taking a year out from the game. 

Mauricio Pochettino insists he is ready to make a return to management after a year out

‘I am always ready to go again and be involved in the game,’ Pochettino said on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football. ‘It’s not stress when you are working, it’s not stress going into the training round to prepare the match and to compete. 

‘I hope to go back soon so we can start again to work. I am looking forward to being back in the game. I love this game but it’s difficult. We are inside and working on doing things. That’s the reality.’

Pochettino and his backroom staff were relieved of their duties by Spurs chairman Daniel Levy last November following a poor run of results that left the club in a slump.

Pochettino and his team were suffering a hangover from their Champions League final defeat by Liverpool, leaving the north London club to appoint Jose Mourinho in a much-needed shake-up.

However, while the writing was on the wall for Pochettino and his coaching staff, the departure after five years was still a painful one. 

‘I needed more time at Tottenham than at Southampton,’ he added. ‘It was different. When we arrived at Spurs the circumstances were completely different from what you can find at Spurs at the moment.

‘Tottenham were a team with 33 players trying to create some identity or maybe they were trying to change the period that they were building and that was why they found a young coaching staff trying to develop a new idea to approach games.

‘For us, Tottenham was an amazing journey, more than five years. And we discovered people like Daniel Levy and all the board and the people who were helping the team to be successful from day one.

‘Then the players, they were amazing. We found a group who had different habits. But the players are not responsible for the habits that they adopt. Always, the person who leads the clubs, the companies need to be strong in how you want to translate the habits for your teams. It was amazing to have this possibility to feel free to create something special in Tottenham.

‘And then of course we made changes, it was painful, really painful. You start to build. That’s why you need to create a platform.’