Mauricio Pochettino insisted he is ‘very close’ to winning trophies at Tottenham after Gary Neville questioned if he has taken the club as far as he can.
Pochettino is yet to deliver silverware at Spurs after four years at the club and admitted last week that he is experiencing his ‘worst feeling’ in north London, amid delays to Tottenham’s stadium move and associated restrictions in spending.
Neville said on Monday that he believes the Argentine is laying the foundations for a move away, with Real Madrid holding a long-term interest in the 46-year-old.
Mauricio Pochettino says he believes Tottenham are ‘very close’ to winning silverware
Gary Neville, the Sky Sports pundit, suggested on Monday Night Football that Pochettino has taken Tottenham as far as he can
But Pochettino was keen to stress on Friday that Spurs are within touching distance of a trophy breakthrough.
He said: ‘I’m an honest person that loves to talk very honestly, and of course when you don’t win you’re so frustrated. Our fans are so frustrated but you are the first that wants to win, the players, the staff, everyone.
‘I think the period today at the club, at Tottenham, is so exciting. I think we’re in the middle of the [journey] and I don’t believe that it’s the end of something.
That’s the difference when people talk for different clubs. When you talk about some clubs or others you need to see where they are, how they are, who they are.
‘But when you assess Tottenham, they are in the middle of the journey, in the middle to arrive in the harbour. And you need time. And the time sometimes depends on the boat, or on many things – whether you can improve your boat during the journey.
Tottenham sit fifth in the Premier League table, some five points off leaders Manchester City
Tottenham celebrate Fernando Llorente scoring their third goal against West Ham
‘People can talk a lot and create a lot of history and theories about Tottenham but the most important is the reality.
‘The reality is we are very close to finishing the new stadium, we’re very close to creating, in facilities, one of the best clubs in the world.
‘Of course all have different costs to pay, and sometimes to win titles today is difficult for different reasons that you and our fans know very well.
‘But sometimes the patience is shorter, it’s not too big, and the frustration, like for us, when you don’t win. You’re so close but you don’t win. But for me it’s so exciting to be here at Tottenham, helping the club to achieve the last level.
‘I think we’re so close to getting the last level, but we need to have that patience that makes us stronger, because of course we’re finding different situations that you need to fix – a lot of difficult things that happen during the journey that you need to sort out. But I think we’re strong enough to sort out all the problems and arrive.’
Pochettino watches Tottenham’s under-23 team play Swansea at the training ground on Friday
He added: ‘When I arrived at Tottenham, the first video I think Daniel Levy or the people showed me was of Tottenham Hotspur, we are talking about the glory. Yes, I want to feel the glory with Tottenham.
‘When I watch that video from 1960, I think always it’s a very emotional video but it will be fantastic to deliver for our fans and for all the people that moment again, to repeat it here with Tottenham.
‘But first of all we need to finish the stadium, move there, finish the facilities here, be settled, make our stadium home again and work so hard to try to be competitive.’
Spurs face Wolves on Saturday and will be without Eric Dier, Danny Rose, Jan Vertonghen and Victor Wanyama.