Mauricio Pochettino is not expecting Tottenham Hotspur to make any signings before Thursday’s deadline but insists he is happy with his squad and that the club will be competitive this season.
Spurs are yet to sign or sell any senior players, and the Premier League transfer window closes at 5 p.m. BST.
“It’s so difficult now because it’s only four hours until the end and I don’t have news now,” Pochettino told a news conference. “In four hours it will be difficult to sign some players.
“I am happy to keep all the squad together. There’s [been] many rumours during the summer about players out. The club made a massive effort to extend contracts like Harry Kane. There’s are many other examples.
“The club is making an amazing effort to finish our stadium as soon as possible. This summer we finish the lodge at the training ground. It’s a massive effort.
“Of course it’s difficult to understand for people that Tottenham didn’t sign or sell a player, but sometimes in football you need to behave differently and we’re happy with our squad. If we cannot improve our squad it’s better to keep our squad all together. We believe in our squad a lot.”
Pochettino, who takes his side to Newcastle United for their first Premier League match of the season on Saturday, added that having club captain Hugo Lloris return to the club as a World Cup winner can help build a winning mentality at Tottenham.
“Now we have the captain that is the world champion,” he said. “He lifted the trophy. I think that is a fantastic experience to translate to our team. I have no doubt that we’re going to be competitive, with or without signings.”
Pochettino favours a very high-pressing, attacking style of football. He often employs a 4–2–3–1 formation at the clubs he manages. While doing so, he instructs his team to build from the back, intimidate and unsettle opponents with a quick-press system and work the ball into the box.
Pochettino is hailed by many pundits for his focus on developing local players from the clubs’ youth academies, get local government and references’ support, and a willingness to promote young players in general. It was also noted that many young players under his tutelage went on to play for the English national team, while the manager himself felt that it was his duty to develop English talent.
Players coached by Pochettino also praised his man-management approach and guidance with his willingness to advise, encouraging the players to take charge of their own development as well as helping them to improve physically, technically and mentally.
In 1992, Pochettino played for the Argentina under-23 team at the CONMEBOL Men Pre-Olympic Tournament in Paraguay, which saw them fail to qualify for the 1992 Summer Olympics.
He won 20 caps for the full side over a period of four years and was a participant at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, appearing in three complete matches as the nation exited in the group stage.
Pochettino’s most newsworthy contribution to the tournament came during the second group stage game, against England, when Italian referee Pierluigi Collina awarded Argentina’s opponents a penalty after the defender brought down Michael Owen in the box. The resulting kick was converted by David Beckham for the match’s only goal