LONDON -- Mauricio Pochettino has admitted that it will be difficult for Tottenham to stay focussed amid the emotion of the last-ever North London derby at White Hart Lane on Sunday.
Spurs have confirmed that they will play next season's home matches at Wembley while White Hart Lane is demolished and a new stadium is built in its place. Sunday's match will be the penultimate game, and the last meeting with their neighbours and fiercest rivals, at the old stadium.
The club plans to confine most of the celebrations to the final match at the Lane, their home since 1899, against Manchester United on May 14, but Sunday will be charged with emotion -- not least because a Spurs win would confirm a first league finish above Arsenal in 22 years.
Pochettino has dismissed the importance of finishing above Arsenal, and says he is only concerned with closing the four-point gap to league leaders Chelsea, who play at Everton earlier on Sunday.
But the Spurs boss warned: "It's a difficult job now. You cannot ignore that it is a derby, and all that means, for us and for the fans. But we are not only playing a derby, we are playing for another big thing -- to be alive and be in the [title] race until the end of the season, trying to win the Premier League.
"It is a very tough job to try to be focused, to try to win the three points," the Spurs manager added. "But in the end, it's the same. To win, you must be better than your opponent.
"It's true that emotion will be involved, more than in other games. But it's a good thing that the team learns a lot, they know that football is emotion, you play with emotion. It's not new, it will not be new for the team to feel that emotion on Sunday."
Spurs have won a club-record 13-consecutive league matches at the Lane, dating back to November, scoring 37 goals and they will finish the campaign unbeaten at home if they avoid defeats against Arsenal and Man United.
Wembley, by contrast, has not been a happy home for Spurs, who one once in four European matches at the national stadium this season, and lost last week's FA Cup semifinal to Chelsea.
Pochettino insisted that there was no part of him that wanted to stay at the Lane, explaining that "you cannot stop evolution" and he said he would not swap places with FA Cup finalists Arsenal, who are sixth in the table.
However, he admitted that the club's home fans were a big reason for their form at the Lane, saying: "We feel every time that we play that it is the last game. Our fans are so excited, and our players too. That feeling, that energy that our fans translate to the team is amazing. And it is key, to push you and help you to give your best.
"They [the fans] are playing [a part] in this season. They were fantastic and they helped a lot the team. I think all that we are achieving there at White Hart Lane, is a big percentage [because] of our fans too.
"The team plays exciting football. The fans are completely involved with the team, they feel very close to the team. And I think we can build that relationship, that is great for the club. I think it's fantastic. That collaboration, to share the feeling, to share the way that we play, when you win, but when you lose the same.
"Always the team feels so proud of the fans, and the fans feel so proud for the team. I think that is a fantastic union, that can only benefit the club."