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May 15, 2016, is a date which has gone down in Newcastle United folklore.

The Magpies were already relegated, but you would have not have known it; the atmosphere at St James’ Park was electric.

Supporters implored Rafa Benitez to stay following relegation, and that helped inspire Newcastle to a fantastic - and thoroughly deserved - 5-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur.

That game has widely been cited as the springboard for United’s subsequent rebirth - but the effect it had on Spurs was equally as profound.

(Image: Newcastle United)

In Mauricio Pochettino’s new book, written by Spanish football expert Guillem Balague and serialised by Sky Sports, the Spurs manager reveals just how crushing a defeat that loss at St James’ Park was for him personally.

It has helped inspire Tottenham to become one of the most-consistent sides in England since.

“Everybody was impressed by our campaign,” Pochettino wrote in his diary - something he started immediately after the Newcastle defeat - which is included in ‘Brave New World: Inside Pochettino’s Spurs’.

“There was talk that we’d played the best football, had the most shots on goal, conceded the fewest goals and the rest, but I couldn’t brush off the embarrassment of what had happened on the final day.

“I’ve just sent good luck messages to the players at Euro 2016, which has just kicked off. While I was writing to them I thought about how at Newcastle we had stopped doing what we’d been practising for two years.”

(Image: Adam Davy/PA Wire)

It was not just the Spurs manager who was affected by that Tyneside hammering, however.

Harry Kane was left “ashamed” too.

“Not even 24 hours have passed since the game,” Pochettino continues.

“I’ve just received a message from Harry Kane saying thank you for the season and that it was a good year despite the final match... You could see that he felt ashamed at the end of the game.

“I’m not going to reply. He doesn’t expect it either.”

At half-time during the match, Pochettino reveals that he watched back Georginio Wijnaldum’s first goal and Aleksandar Mitrovic’s strike.

He did not believe either was down to mere defensive lapses or tactical issues - instead, the Spurs players were merely lacking commitment and heart.

During his half-time teamtalk, he laid into his players.

“Why did we start our holidays before that match? What did we do wrong? That uncomfortable place is where we are at the moment. It was all my fault,” he explains.

“I did something wrong. We have to understand the underlying cause behind that defeat.

“I got the screen out at half-time, when we were 2-0 down. But it wasn’t a matter of altering the position of our defensive line or which players played where.

“‘What’s happening here has nothing to do with tactics. We aren’t battling. You aren’t yourselves on the pitch!’ I repeated that several times.

“But it was to no avail.”

(Image: Getty Images Europe)

After heading back down to London following the match, Pochettino admits the players and coaching staff could barely even look at one another.

As soon as he returned home, he gorged himself on “unhealthy food” and opened a bottle of wine - while he started a new diary.

“We were not avoiding one another, but nobody was smiling. We felt embarrassed when we crossed paths, and if we saw a fan we kept our heads down,” Pochettino adds.

“It becomes a serious matter when there’s a mental disconnect with the basic principles of the game - if the footballer’s aim isn’t a shared one, but purely individual, and he forgets the required order in this sport: that the individual shines more when at the service of the team and the structure that supports him.

“I was thinking about all of that as we landed back in London from Newcastle. I got in the car and headed home.

“The first thing that I did when I got there was open a bottle of wine and stuff myself with unhealthy food. I think I let my frustration out on myself.

“I ate the lot: crisps, snacks... If we had pizza, some of that as well. No salad.

“Today I started this diary.”