Mauricio Pochettino says it’s ‘our responsibility’ to be ready for our Premier League finale against Everton at home on Sunday (3pm).
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Four days after reaching the Champions League Final, after the night of our lives against Ajax, we face the in-form Toffees as we bid for third place in the Premier League.
We go into the last round of fixtures sitting fourth in the table, a point behind Chelsea and three ahead of Arsenal, with a +8 better goal difference. Chelsea travel to Leicester, Arsenal go to Burnley. A point for us against Everton will put our place in the top four beyond any doubt.
“We are in a moment, living a dream,” said Mauricio. “It’s difficult to be in the reality but it’s our responsibility to create the atmosphere of competition because Sunday is an important day for us.
“To be ready is our first priority. To finish in the right way, in front of our fans, is the most important thing now. Of course, it was an amazing moment, one of the best we lived all together after five years. I know very well it’s difficult to stop to think after all we achieved on Wednesday but our responsibility is to be ready.”
Mauricio described the situation in the Premier League as ‘almost, but not done’.
“We’re in a good position and need to take the game, be competitive with all our energy,” he said. “To finish in the right way will be a massive boost to prepare for the Champions League Final against Liverpool in Madrid.
“We must believe that we need to win on Sunday. Our objective must be to finish third. That’s the way we need to take the game and then what happens, happens.”
Everton are finishing well and have won six of their last 10 in the league including wins over Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United at Goodison Park.
Mauricio added: “Everton have great momentum, are very competitive and they finish the season very well. They have very good players and it’s normal that they’re going to come here to compete. They had a clear week to prepare. We cannot be distracted. We need to be focussed on our game.”
