Pochettino - We have to consider the budget
Mauricio Pochettino confirmed to Sky Sports what all Spurs fans know, whether they care to admit it or not, that our budget restricts who we can buy.
"It's never easy to take players and January is more difficult than in the summer. With the budget we have, we need to go easy on purchases. For the level where we are now, it is not easy to take a player who can improve."
His words confirm once again that we have to consider the future, that we want players who are going to improve and, therefore, increase in value. Overpaying for potential is not an option, if a player improves, we want to be able to benefit from that if the player decides he wants to be at another club. It is a fact of life that players change clubs, just as the general public change jobs.
We can do all we can to keep them, but to improve a player and receive no benefit for that if they do leave is commercial madness. The business has to be successful before the team can be, cutting our own throat simply doesn't make any sense. Refusing a transfer doesn't always work, WBA haven't had much out of Saido Berahino since the summer.
Pochettino also spoke about the media talking about us as title contenders. He also confirmed that you don't move from an unsuccessful side to a successful one overnight. As in any walk of life, success is achieved in steps and as long as you are climbing those steps you are getting nearer. Gary Neville said he will base his coaching on Mauricio Pochettino and what he saw at Tottenham when he spent a day here.
“If the people believe we are contenders I am happy because we have shown enough quality for that. Our ambition is always to stay as high as possible in the table, but we’re realistic. We’re very young, we have the youngest team in the Premier League but we are very ambitious and our motivation is to win every game.
“We need to keep working hard and try to win every game. It’s not always possible to win but it’s better than to lose. But we are very happy in the way we compete. We show we are more solid than last season and it’s step by step. This is the most important thing. In the end we’ll see what happens and which position we are.”
There isn't any doubt that Tottenham are improving and that we are heading in the right direction. We now have the mentality instilled that we were missing before.
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Further Tottenham Reading
Dier outperforming Matic - not just the Chelsea game but all season
Levy and Pochettino set the bar higher - you can't hit the heights if you don't aim high
Tim Sherwood stuck in the past - Analytics do have a part to play
Comment: MacKenzie discusses data and scouting - a further insight into his role