Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino wants his side to use their historic win at Chelsea last season as inspiration for ending an Old Trafford drought on Monday.
Spurs head to Manchester United with a poor recent record, having not won or scored a goal in their last four visits.
Pochettino’s men beat their London rivals Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in April for the first time since 1990 on their way to a Champions League spot.
The Argentinian wants his side to use that experience to get a result on Monday, even if preparations for the game have been disrupted due to news breaking on Friday that club captain Hugo Lloris has been charged with drink-driving. Pochettino, who did not talk about Lloris’ situation in his press conference on Friday lunchtime, said of their Old Trafford form: “That’s not perception. It’s reality. We lost four games, we didn’t score a goal, we didn’t win a point.
“But Chelsea last season was a good example. After 28 years we won. Why not? There are many negative things but you need to believe and I believe more than ever that we can win. We’re winners.The winners sometimes lose but if your attitude is right, you’ll win more than you lose.We’re working hard. After four years, we still need to improve winning some (against) clubs away from home, like United.
We played some games well, some not so well. It’s a massive challenge for us to go to United and show we’re capable of winning.”
On paper it could be seen as a good time to visit Jose Mourinho’s men as they are having a fraught start to the campaign.
Mourinho suffered frustration in the transfer market, is reported to be at loggerheads with Paul Pogba and saw his side put in a sub-standard showing in a 3-2 loss at Brighton.
Asked if Mourinho was under pressure, Pochettino replied: “And you don’t believe I’m not in the same position? We feel the pressure every week.
“Of course the circumstances are different over the year but every game you play you’re under pressure and if you lose or don’t perform as you expect the pressure touches you.
“We are always under pressure. It’s impossible to relax – I’m only relaxed in summer when I spent a week with family and friends.
“Many things happen – and you know better than me it’s impossible to relax and feel that pressure.”
If Spurs can win at Old Trafford they will have won their first three Premier League games since the 2009-10 season under Harry Redknapp.
Pochettino added: “We are a big club of course, we need to be bigger of course and we are on the way to be a bigger club. But after four years, many people say we haven’t won anything.
“That is history, we are trying to set the basis to win, we are breaking records about good results but of course it is not enough.
“Sometimes we are a victim of our success, but it would be perfect to win again and settle after 10 years to win the first three games. The objective is to win.”