Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino insists he’s happy – but has he lost his desire at the club because of the regular battle he faces to strengthen? Last summer was the first time in three transfer windows where Pochettinho was permitted to add to his side, and even though he did that, he himself is not convinced they now have a better side.
Has the fight to make Tottenham a top side just become too much for the Argentine, who appears to face a battle to strengthen his side every time the window opens?
The current Spurs side appears to be a very similar one to that of the past few years and, as any top-flight manager will tell you, if you stand still in football, you effectively go backwards.
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Pochettino insists he and chief executive Daniel Levy have a good relationship and he does not feel under any pressure from above, despite a poor start to the season.
After the pair went to Milan together for the FIFA The Best football awards, Pochettino insists that all is well between the two. “We were together in Milan at the FIFA awards. He came with me, Jesus (Perez, assistant), my wife and (chief scout) Steve Hitchen,” he said.
“It was a very nice time to spend together and talk about many things. “If we are not in a good way, we don’t have a good relationship to spend a day together. There’s no point if you don’t have a good relationship.”
Spurs have won only two games from eight this season and have thrown 2-0 leads away twice, not to mention their League Cup embarrassment this week, and it is beginning to look as though the manager has lost his touch, or become bored telling the same players the same thing on a regular basis.
He says he is up for the challenge to turn around the club’s fortunes, but deep down in his heart you wonder if that is the truth, as he continues to be linked with clubs abroad.
He has been linked with a move to Real Madrid on a number of occasions, although Zinedine Zidane has turned things around and looks safe for now, but not so their arch-rivals Barcelona.
A poor start to the season for the La Liga champions means Ernesto Valverde is under pressure, and would Pochettino stay in north London if they came calling?
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