Mauricio Pochettino next to Chelsea winning the Premier League title in 2017
Mauricio Pochettino has been called out for a 'loser mentality' after claiming Tottenham deserve to be awarded Chelsea's 2016/17 Premier League title.
The Argentine's Spurs side finished runner-up to Antonio Conte's Blues that season, seven points adrift of the eventual champions.
Antonio Conte celebrating with the Premier League trophy3
Conte won the Premier League and FA Cup during his two-year spell in charge of Chelsea between 2016-2018
However, Pochettino believes Chelsea should be stripped of the trophy, having admitted to breaking the rules.
The current Blues administration self-reported widespread financial irregularities that occurred during the Roman Abramovich era.
This included millions in secret payments to agents, helping to secure a number of players that starred in the 2016/17 title-winning season - including Eden Hazard, Willian and David Luiz.
Chelsea escaped with a £10million fine and a suspended transfer ban, avoiding any sporting sanctions.
But Pochettino, who also managed the Blues in recent years, argues the 2016/17 title should be retrospectively given to his Tottenham side by default.
“I have no doubt and I’m not scared to say the truth," the current USA manager said.
“The Chelsea fans will be upset with me because I’m saying this.
“It’s not me complaining. It’s the truth.
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“If they admitted they broke the rules, the Premier League title was for the second best team.
“Otherwise, what is being promoted and incentivised is to break the rules. They admitted, so that’s it. The title should be for the team that was second.”
Eden Hazard with the Premier League trophy3
Hazard was the best player in the Premier League during the 2016/17 season
Pochettino added: “If we were at Tottenham and broke the rules I’d admit the same and say ‘look, we don’t deserve the title because we broke the rules’.
“You don’t have some clubs playing with the offside laws and VAR and another side without them. That’s impossible.
“No. For everyone it needs to be the same rules and the same capacity to create the best team.
“I’m not saying they didn’t play well.
“That was Conte, the coach was great, and everything.”
'Loser mentality'
talkSPORT pundit and Chelsea fan Rory Jennings ripped into Pochettino for his outlandish claim on Wednesday night's Sports Bar.
Mauricio Pochettino and Dele Alli in 20173
Pochettino's men came up seven points short in the 2016/17 season and never truly threatened Chelsea for the title
"Pochettino is demonstrating loser mentality," Jennings told co-host and Tottenham fan Majestic. "That's what this is.
"Give us something on a technicality that we didn't really earn. You don't want that. You're better than this."
Veteran talkSPORT host and former Tottenham striker Alan Brazil also dismissed Pochettino's calls for the record to be rewritten.
"It doesn't work like that. It's gone now," Brazil said on Thursday morning's Breakfast Show.