Since his dismissal in 2019, Mauricio Pochettino has not visited his beloved Tottenham team. As the manager of rival Chelsea, the Argentine ‘cannot foresee’ the welcome he will receive upon returning home.

He said with a smile: “I was thinking to dress in a different way, put on a mask or something but it was too risky.”

“We cannot guess,” said Pochettino, when asked what he expected. “We cannot forget that we lived together. Amazing memories and I am going to respect the people, and how they are going to express themselves.

It won’t change my emotions, my view or my feelings about a club where we spent an unbelievable journey. It is special to be coming back after four years. Really special, I cannot lie.

It was a difficult situation when we left the club, a difficult moment and now we have the opportunity to go back and see the people who are still working there, and it is going to be an exciting moment for us.”

He is looking forward to seeing Daniel Levy, the chairman of Spurs, who fired him in November 2019, just five months after the two of them experienced the ecstasy of winning the club’s first Champions League final.

“He is the most important person,” declared Pochettino.

“He gave me and my coaching staff the possibility to be in Tottenham. It was not only a professional relationship, also a friendship.

There are too many memories, nearly six years together and I only want to say to him thank you for the opportunity to experience great things, like to build the new stadium.

Up and down, good and bad but we cannot forget. It will be strange to come back after four years but it is going to be a happy day for me. We are professional but we are at the same time human.”

Tottenham saw a complete transformation under Pochettino, who brought in youthful players like Harry Kane and Dele Alli, created a captivating brand of football, consistently placed the team in the top four, and brought the team back to the highest division of European competition.