Huddersfield boss David Wagner rates Tottenham counterpart Mauricio Pochettino as one of the world’s best managers.
The Terriers bid to halt their winless Premier League start against Pochettino’s side at the John Smith’s Stadium on Saturday.
“I can’t wait,” Wagner said. “It’s so exciting to be playing Tottenham, with one of the best managers in the world.
“My relationship (with Pochettino) is two games, two defeats and no goals – not the best one, but I’m a big fan of what he has done in the Premier League so far.
“He’s always able to find players, develop players, sometimes players who are not the biggest names in world football, but he turned them into some of the biggest names.
“This is something very special. He’s created success for this football club and this is why I’m a big admirer of what Mauricio is doing.”
Town’s 3-1 defeat at Leicester last week extended their winless start to six matches and saw them drop to the bottom of the table.
They have mustered only three goals in those six games and have fired blanks in their three previous home league matches this season.
But Wagner is not concerned his side’s relegation odds have been shortened.
“Since I arrived we’ve been much more written off than not so. It’s absolutely nothing new for us,” he said.
“If you are propping up the table there is only one direction you can go and that’s north.”
Huddersfield found themselves 3-0 down inside the first 23 minutes in the corresponding fixture last season before going down 4-0, but Wagner said his players know what to expect.
“To play against these players is exactly what you like to have as a sportsman and as a manager as well. You like to test yourself against the best,” he said.
“You have to deliver a top performance, you have to be brave and you have to have an atmosphere in your stadium, where our supporters can help us do the hard yards to do something extraordinary.
“We haven’t scored a lot of goals in the last few home games – this is the truth – but it’s only us that can change it. This is what we will try to do. This is our aim.
“If everything comes together, with a little bit of luck that you need, then it could happen. We’ve seen it last season in our stadium.”
Wagner has no new injury concerns, but midfielders Danny Williams and Ramadan Sobhi (both knee) are still out.
