From The Times:
Tottenham at crossroads as Mauricio Pochettino’s angst grows over ability to compete
Mauricio Pochettino began what could prove to be a pivotal fortnight in his managerial career with a serious power play.
Not once, not twice, but three times he cast doubt on his future at Tottenham Hotspur after they crumbled to a 2-1 defeat to Manchester United in the semi-finals of the FA Cup.
“We came here to create a winning mentality,” he said in a post-match interview with the BBC. “It’s about time and making a lot of change when you identify those things and Tottenham has a lot of work to do in that direction with myself or with another manager.”
He went on to repeat the same line when speaking to beIN Sports and then again in his post-match press conference. It may have been just the disappointment talking, but it looked more like a calculated comment on Pochettino’s behalf. Rarely has he spoken so candidly about his future. The disappointment of losing a second successive FA Cup semi-final, of once again failing to win a trophy after four years in charge, had taken its toll on Pochettino and his players.
“We are close but so far away,” said Michel Vorm, the Tottenham goalkeeper. “If you look in the dressing room now, it’s a mess.”
The idea of Pochettino leaving Spurs could come closer to reality this week if Real Madrid’s season starts to unravel. Barcelona, the unbeaten La Liga leaders, need just one more point to rule their great rivals out of the title race. And should Bayern Munich knock the reigning European champions out of the Champions League, Zinédine Zidane will surely be sacked. Pochettino, of course, is Real’s preferred candidate to replace him and few would begrudge the Argentinian the chance to manage one of the biggest clubs in the world. Real’s squad is blessed with some of the best talent in Europe and Pochettino would have a much larger budget to play with than at Tottenham.
Pochettino alluded to his frustration at playing second fiddle to the Premier League’s other top clubs in the transfer market after Saturday’s defeat. “Winning trophies when you face sides like Chelsea, Manchester United or Emirates Marketing Project is not easy,” he said.
“The most important thing is to be able to compete with them, like I said before, with myself or with [another] manager. It’s about carrying on working in that direction. I am sure we will arrive to compete and maybe win trophies when we face teams with a different philosophy than us.”
The clubs that Pochettino mentioned have had a much different philosophy in the transfer market. Since Pochettino took over in 2014, Spurs’ net expenditure on transfers has been £18.35 million — less than half that City paid for Leroy Sané, the young German winger, two years ago.
In casting doubt over his future, Pochettino was reminding Daniel Levy, the Spurs chairman, that he has effectively been fighting with one hand tied behind his back. Spurs have enjoyed memorable wins over the likes of United, Real and Emirates Marketing Project under Pochettino’s stewardship — and there is genuine excitement about moving to their new ground next season — but with the limited resources available to him, there is only so long his patience can last. Pochettino is no small-time manager. Sir Alex Ferguson spoke with great admiration for him two years ago just before Louis van Gaal was sacked as United manager. “Tottenham’s biggest problem [in the summer] will be keeping Mauricio Pochettino. There will be a lot of eyes on him,” he said.
Signings do not guarantee success, of course, but they often help. United had Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial, two deadly attacking forwards, on the bench on Saturday. There was no matchwinner among the Spurs replacements, hence why they could not swing the game back in their favour after surrendering the lead.
Tottenham cannot compete with the big boys in the wages department either. Harry Kane, who has scored 41 goals for club and country this season, is said to earn around £110,000 per week, only £10,000 a week more than Jesse Lingard, the United forward who is talented but nowhere near as prolific as the England striker. Kane admits that Spurs may have a mentality that stops them overcoming the final hurdle in their pursuit of silverware. “It could be. There’s a reason why we’re falling short in big games,” he said. “I wouldn’t be able to tell you exactly what it is, but it’s frustrating.”
Should Pochettino stay at Spurs, he admits he will be tempted to switch approach and play the youngsters coming through the academy to help the team’s chances of winning the FA Cup.
“Yes, I am thinking to play with kids, the next time, yes,” he said. “I’m sure it will be fantastic for experience.”