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Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino rules out finding 'third home' for Manchester City fixture amid stadium delays

Fixture headache: Tottenham's new stadium might not be ready to stag the City clash on October 28: PA
Fixture headache: Tottenham's new stadium might not be ready to stag the City clash on October 28: PA

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino has ruled out playing in three different home stadiums this season and says the club wants find a new date at Wembley for the game against Manchester City on October 28.

Pochettino apologised to Spurs supporters for the delays to the club's new stadium and no-one was more disappointed than chairman Daniel Levy.

Issues with the 'critical safety systems' – understood to be the fire and evacuation alarms – at Spurs 62,062-seater, £850million new ground have forced them to move the home games against Liverpool on September 15 and Cardiff on October 6 to Wembley.

Spurs cannot play City at Wembley on the same day because the national stadium is hosting an NFL match, but Pochettino suggested that they could play the champions the following day, on Monday October 29.

"At the moment, I cannot say that we’re not going to play this game in our new stadium," Pochettino said. "You know I am always very transparent and am always honest with you about what I hear or what the club communicates to me.

"And I don’t know. If it’s not possible to play in the new stadium, it’s about finding a way to play at Wembley because I think three stadiums in one season will be too much. Maybe we need to adapt.

"If the day after the NFL game maybe the pitch is not in the best condition, we need to make the effort and try to play in the end because maybe to find another date will be difficult."

If Spurs and City both progress through the Carabao Cup third-round, they would be due to play in the fourth-round on October 30-31, further complicating the situation.

"I’m a person always positive that tries not to complain about the things you cannot change," Pochettino continued. "We try to find the best solutions and try to help in the end to perform in the best way and win games, because in the end that’s our job.

“We all feel disappointed of course with the announcement from the club this week," he added. "I feel so sorry for myself first of all, for our fans, the players, everyone, and of course for our chairman.

"He tried with the board and everyone who is involved with building the new stadium to arrive on time. It’s been a massive effort. We feel it every day, that effort. That we cannot deliver for the Liverpool game is massively disappointing for everyone. I understand that. But the first to be disappointed is Daniel.

“We need to be all together. My message last week was that message. We need our fans to understand that it’s a massive, huge project that will be [there] forever for them and the club. If it’s not possible for different things that is not in our hands, the most important thing is to be positive.

"Of course I understand the problems about the tickets, the money and everything, and I feel sorry for them. I want to say thank you and apologise. We’re going to try to reward them by winning games. It’s the only way we can add and can pay all the effort they are doing and they are going to do for the club."

Pochettino confirmed that midfielders Georges-Kevin Nkoudou and Josh Onomah could leave the club on loan for more first team football, with the French winger currently considering an offer Bundesliga club Mainz.

Toby Alderweireld and Danny Rose have also been linked with moves before the majority of the European transfer windows close at the end of this month and Pochettino admitted that some players could still leave Spurs.

"We are going to see if some players can believe they achieve their goals at another club maybe they are going to move," he said. "Some player maybe they want to move but they don't have an offer.

"Maybe some player receives an offer but they don't want to move. There are plenty of situations that can happen in football, but I am focused to work with them today, if tomorrow the situation changes for everyone we are going to adapt. But for me they are players I am going to work with until January but if they change their mind and they are working with their people to try and get an opportunity, I am open and then it is Daniel Levy who will make the final decision."