‘I’m here to win’ -Tottenham Coach Pochettino not settling for top four

After a quiet off-season in the transfer market, the Tottenham manager has offered a reminder of his desire to lift trophies
Mauricio Pochettino insists he is determined to win silverware with Tottenham and is not satisfied merely with securing regular Champions League qualification.

Spurs have finished third or second in each of the previous three Premier League seasons, leaving the team increasingly familiar with UEFA’s elite continental competition.

The north London side were runners-up behind Chelsea in 2016-17 and pushed Leicester City throughout much of the Foxes’ surprise title-winning campaign in 2015-16, before falling away in the final weeks.

Yet while they have been successful, questions surround the club’s transfer policy as they are the only Premier League team yet to sign any player this summer.

Reports have linked them with Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish, but the midfielder may be set for a stay at the Championship club.

However, the former Espanyol and Southampton boss Pochettino has rejected suggestions the club is content to retain a place in the top four.

“If some people believe the manager of Tottenham doesn’t want to win they are not right in their minds,” he told the Daily Mail.

“I’m here to win. The reality is to win and to have the argument about whether you have the tools to win is a different matter. We have had massive success at the club, getting [to the] Champions League for a third year in a row.

“But maybe that is not enough and maybe we need to change certain things because for me it is not enough. I want to challenge and fight to win things until the end, that moment when my chairman Daniel Levy says to me, ‘Mauricio go home and find another project’.

“Winning is my concern and I feel responsible for this after four years with the club to try to achieve this.

“Maybe our history and the reality is different, but the players are fighting and working so hard and we are there with them.”

Tottenham have overhauled their training facilities and are building a new stadium on the site of White Hart Lane at great expense.Pochettino acknowledged the importance of investing in Spurs’ infrastructure, despite the projects leaving the club unable to match the transfer spending taking place at the likes of Manchester City and Manchester United.

“To compete at that level and challenge the big sides that have focused on improving their teams, while the reality for us has been improving our facilities, such as building the training ground and new stadium, I think it is not fair to compare us with these kind of clubs,” he said.

“We are competing in the same race but in a different way.”

Pochettino has once again claimed that Tottenham may end the summer without signing a player, but insists he is “not the person to explain it”.

Spurs are the only club in the Premier League not to reinforce their squad this summer, despite continued links with Manchester United forward Anthony Martial, Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish and Bournemouth’s Lewis Cook.

Villa manager Steve Bruce claimed on Friday that Spurs are “nowhere near” Villa’s valuation of Grealish, despite talks taking place throughout the summer.

Pochettino has reiterated his previous comments that Spurs could end the summer window, which closes next week, without making a single transfer, and appeared to hint that chairman Daniel Levy is struggling to get deals over the line.

“Yes. We are working so hard but still we are like it’s the first day of the transfer window – with no signings,” he told a press conference.

“I think I am not the person to explain it.

“Of course, people expect the manager to explain that but, for different reasons, it’s been difficult to add players who can help us. But in the last week many things can happen.”

Pochettino admits that he is not calm about the situation, but believes that he has a back-up plan should Spurs fail to make any additions.