Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino says his club will try to find a way to play their Premier League game with Manchester City at Wembley if their new stadium is not ready.
With work overrunning on their 62,000-seater stadium, it is unlikely to be finished for the visit of the champions, which is scheduled for 4pm on Sunday, October 28.
Spurs have moved league games against Liverpool and Cardiff, which were due to be played at their rebuilt home, to the national stadium – where they play Fulham on Saturday – but they cannot do that for the City game as there is an NFL fixture on that day.
The prospect of reversing the fixture is understood to have be rebuffed, meaning, if the two clubs cannot agree to reschedule, the game may have to be played at another venue, something Pochettino is keen to avoid.
With both sides involved in the Champions League in the midweek before the game and both possibly set to play in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup in the midweek after, Pochettino has hinted that playing the game 24 hours after the NFL game might be an option.
“At the moment I cannot say that we’re not going to play this game in our new stadium,” he said.
“If you ask me today if it’s not possible to play in the new stadium, of course it’s about finding a way to play at Wembley because I think to play at another place, maybe 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, but we need to make the effort and try to play in the end because maybe to find another date will be difficult.
“But I’m a person always positive that tries not to complain about the things you cannot change.
“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.”
Spurs were due to be in their impressive new stadium on the site of the old White Hart Lane in time for the Premier League clash with Liverpool on September 15.
But the club announced on Monday that due to the failure of “critical safety systems” it would not be ready in time and the games against the Reds and Cardiff would be moved back to Wembley, where they played last season.
Pochettino has apologised to disappointed fans and vowed to repay them with results on the pitch.
“We all feel disappointed of course with the announcement from the club this week,” the Argentinian said.
“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. That we cannot deliver for the Liverpool game is massively disappointing for everyone.
“We need to be all together. 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.”
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