LONDON -- Mauricio Pochettino has insisted that the season will still be a success if Tottenham do not win a trophy, and says finishing in the top four is a bigger achievement than winning the title at another club.
Saturday's FA Cup semifinal against Chelsea has been overshadowed by the sudden death of Spurs' Under-23 coach Ugo Ehiogu, who collapsed at the training ground after suffering a cardiac arrest on Thursday, aged 44.
Both teams will wear black armbands at Wembley and there will be a minute's applause before the match to celebrate the life of former Aston Villa and Middlesbrough centre-half Ehiogu, who represented England and won three League Cups in a distinguished playing career.
Pochettino, who described Ehiogu's death as "a huge loss personally and for all the Tottenham Hotspur family," spoke to the media shortly before the incident on Thursday, and sought, again, to strike a balance between taking the pressure off his team and asserting that they can beat the league leaders.
Asked if he could consider his work at Tottenham a success before they have won a trophy, Pochettino replied: "Here is a massive success. Yes, you can win titles -- but with which teams?
"It is normal to win titles with Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, maybe Juventus, Porto in Portugal. With a big team, you are already very close to winning. Look at Barcelona with Pep [Guardiola], with Tito Vilanova, with [Frank] Rijkaard, with Luis Enrique -- all different managers but with the same group of players and they were successful.
"Success for me is to finish in the top four like last season. It was a big success for Tottenham and means more than winning one title with Barcelona," Pochettino continued.
Pochettino has previously criticised "artificial success" and he explained that he wanted to win trophies with Spurs in the same way he did as a player with Spanish minnows Espanyol.
The Spurs manager also praised his friend and former Argentina teammate Diego Simeone, who has guided Atletico Madrid to two Champions League finals and won La Liga, despite having a fraction of the resources of Real Madrid and Barcelona.
"I dream of lifting trophies but the way I did with Espanyol. Two Copa del Reys -- with Espanyol! That is why I admire Simeone at Atletico Madrid. It is so difficult to win with Atletico Madrid. He deserves more credit maybe than some others," Pochettino added.
"I have not changed my desire to lift trophies from when I was at Espanyol. And as a kid playing for Boca Juniors or River Plate, it was normal to win -- not playing for Newell's Old Boys. But I liked that challenge. If you are there but not spending the money and are still challenging, that is what I like the most."
Pochettino explained that the team had progressed more quickly than the club since his appointment in May 2014, and said any trophies Spurs win before they move into their new stadium, scheduled to ready in August 2018, would be a bonus.
"The step was massive from the team, but the club is still growing up, but not at the same pace. And now maybe we need to wait a little bit for the club to arrive, finish the new stadium, afterwards move from Wembley [back] to White Hart Lane again. And that moment, will be the moment to push, and try now to win. But, if this season we can win, or next season we can win some titles, it's welcome."
Pochettino must decide whether to stick with a 4-2-3-1 formation he used in the 4-0 wins against Watford and Bournemouth, or mirror Chelsea's three-at-the-back formation, as he did in the 2-0 win over the Blues in January.
But the Spurs manager dismissed the importance of tactics and formations, even after Jose Mourinho's Manchester United successfully stifled Chelsea on Sunday, and said belief was the only thing that would matter at Wembley.
"It's so funny. When the starting XI appeared, I heard a lot to criticise Mourinho for the team he picked. Afterwards, he was a genius! I understand, it's all about results. If you win, you are a genius. If you don't win, you are the devil," said Pochettino.
"Football is about the belief, the team -- it is not important the formation, the system, the plan. If you have 11 on the pitch, seven on the bench, and all the staff that believe in one idea, you can play in one formation or use three or four formations. If you believe, you win. But if you don't believe you can change everything.
"Manchester United played well but it was one game. It means nothing. We have our philosophy that we play and then win or lose ... look how we play with two formations. We lost [to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge] when we played better and another when we won when it was equal -- 2-0 for us.
"We must do our job. Now it's the FA Cup. Our challenge is to try to win and go to the final, then again focus on Crystal Palace and game by game. Don't think too much," he added. "This season we will spend our energy trying to play better in every game to win the games and then see what happens. It's up to Chelsea to win the League."