How to handle Tottenham’s Europa League problem

Tottenham’s presence in the Europa League could pose a problem for the club’s Premier League title push

My, how quickly things can change at Tottenham. Just a few short months ago, the club viewed the Europa League as its best chance to win a trophy and secure a Champions League berth. Now, it could easily be viewed as a nuisance that could damage Tottenham’s chances at a Premier League title.

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Spurs sit just two points back of league-leading Leicester City as they prepare for Thursday’s Europa League tie at Fiorentina. Manager Mauricio Pochettino is now staring the challenge of rotating his squad between Premier League, Europa League and FA Cup play squarely in the face. Fortunately, it’s a welcome problem for the North London club.

After all, Tottenham now appears to be a lock for a Champions League berth next season barring some sort of epic collapse. They currently sit 10 points clear of fifth place Manchester United and are buzzing with fine form. Spurs fans have rightly set their eyes on a Premier League title instead of merely hoping for a top-four finish.

That chase for a title could be derailed by the club’s continuing Europa League competition. The competition that many fans pointed to as the best route to the Champions League when the season began, now has popped up as a rather unwelcome distraction from the Premier League title race. Pochettino will have to manage the club carefully to keep it on target in each of its competitions.

This doesn’t mean that Pochettino needs to resort to massive squad rotation in advance of the Fiorentina match. As Matt Law points out in his excellent column in today’s Telegraph, the Spurs manager has already made sure his players receive more rest than many of their competitors for the Premier League crown.

Instead of punting a competition, Pochettino has subtly rotated his squad all season long. In comparison to a club like Arsenal, Tottenham’s players have already been rotated sufficiently to make sure they play fewer games than their rival counterparts. Even Harry Kane, who Pochettino has relied on heavily at striker, has started just three more matches than Arsenal counterpart Olivier Giroud. His squad rotation has been subtle, but positions Tottenham well to push forward in all competitions.

That doesn’t mean, however, that Pochettino is wise to commit to starting his best 11 in any of the next three matches. I would advocate he start a youthful squad at Fiorentina on Thursday in hopes of gaining an advantage heading into the home tie. If the youthful squad could secure a draw or even steal a win at the Serie A club, it could buy the squad’s more senior players a ton of rest.

It would also free up Pochettino to select more of his starters for the FA Cup match versus Crystal Palace. Eagles’ manager Alan Pardew has already begun to talk up the contest so you can bet he’ll have his squad breathing fire when they arrive at White Hart Lane. Starting a team full of youngsters and substitutes might mean the end of Tottenham’s FA Cup run.

Of course, at this point in the season that wouldn’t be entirely disastrous. The chief aim of Pochettino and the club has to be winning Tottenham’s first Premier League title since 1961. Given the struggles of the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United this season, Spurs may not receive a better opportunity to win it all for quite some time.

The short answer of what to do about Tottenham’s Europa League problem is to trust manager Mauricio Pochettino. He’s piloted the Spurs ship perfectly this season so who are we to judge? What I hope and suspect he will do, is to start a relatively light team at Fiorentina Thursday and then evaluate his alternatives based on that result.

The good news is that the Europa League doesn’t mean nearly what it used to do Tottenham. The fact that it can be considered an inconvenience at this point in the season is a testament to just how far Spurs have come under Pochettino.