I left the Bridge because I was a victim of Ranieri's system but I do hope Chelsea win the league, says Tottenham No 2 Poyet

• THE BIG MATCH: Tottenham v Chelsea

Despite the intense rivalry between the teams, Poyet has never been able to sever his emotional ties to Stamford Bridge having won the European Cup Winners' Cup and FA Cup during his four years there as a player, which ended with his switch to White Hart Lane in 2001.

Now assistant manager to Juande Ramos at Spurs, he helped plot the Blues' downfall in last month's Carling Cup Final and wants a repeat result when the clubs meet in the Premier League tonight.

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Boys on the bench: Gus Poyet (right) listens to Tottenham manager Jaunde Ramos

However, he insists he will be as overjoyed as the Chelsea fans if their club go on to win the Premier League or Champions League this term.

"I still have a strong feeling for them," said the former Uruguay midfielder.

"I played in a very good Chelsea team and for most of the time we were in control of games. We won very good trophies in England and in Europe and it was one of the best times in my career. They still have the quality to win the Premier League and the Champions League this season.

"I took a lot of stick from the Chelsea supporters for joining Tottenham, but I had to stay in London for the sake of my childrens' education.

"I was a victim of Claudio Ranieri's changes. I had a year left on my contract and was still very fit to play, but the manager thought I couldn't play week in, week out. The same thing happened to Dennis Wise and he had been the captain for 11 years.

"I knew I was joining a rival club but I didn't view it in those terms. I asked myself what the great, great rivalries are in London and I would say it's Tottenham- Arsenal. Maybe people might now add Tottenham-Chelsea, but for me it is not up there with Arsenal.

"So I didn't have that pressure from my side, although I realised afterwards because of the reaction from the Chelsea supporters who asked how it was possible that I was coming to Spurs and how I was betraying them."

Chelsea missed Poyet the player for a couple of seasons, but it's his performance as a coach which has truly impressed in recent seasons and given them perhaps the most cause for regret.

From the moment he was named as assistant manager to Wise at Swindon in 2006, he has forged a good reputation in the game.

Chelsea boys: Poyet (left) and Wise during their tenure at Leeds

He helped turn the club into promotion contenders in League Two before joining Leeds in October that year.

While their problems off the field played a major part in them getting relegated to League One, Poyet and Wise helped the club get into the top six within a few months of this season despite having a 15-point penalty for financial irregularities.

It is perhaps no coincidence that Leeds' fortunes started to decline after Ramos convinced Poyet to join him when he arrived from Sevilla five months ago.

There was much talk at the time that the 40-year-old was being hired just to act as an interpreter for the Spanish-speaking Ramos in order to get his message across to the squad. But Poyet has played a key role in the coaching set-up alongside fitness expert Marcos Alvarez, as well as having a major influence on keeping the morale of the players high.

Alvarez said: "I think Gus was very important for us. He knows the mentality of the English players, English clubs and the mentality of a Spanish coach."

Poyet admits he loves his role at Tottenham and the club's win over Chelsea at Wembley gave him one of the sweetest moments of his career.

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He added: "It meant a lot to everyone at the club to get this cup especially after a few difficult months. It was not that long ago that the three of us arrived and it was a difficult time. The team had no confidence and we changed things around very quickly.

"The thing is, we didn't just beat a top side in Chelsea, we deserved to. We were the better team from the start and could have won by more. I remember looking at the fans and normally they would be starting to celebrate 10 minutes before the end, but they were nervous and you could see that they thought Chelsea were going to score at the end. The noise from our fans at the end was unbelievable.

"Coaching is more stressful than playing, without a doubt, but it is fantastic to be back at Spurs and I hope to play my part in helping the whole club get better."

That doesn't stop Poyet from having sympathy for Chelsea boss Avram Grant, who knows he will probably be sacked if Chelsea fail to win a trophy this season.

Poyet believes it was always going to be a tough task despite the expensive talent at Stamford Bridge and said: "Avram needs time but he hasn't got it. Roman Abramovich wants results and a new style of football now."