Mauricio Pochettino will very soon know where his Tottenham team really belong, says Alan Smith

Proud as Poch: The Tottenham boss salutes fans at the new stadium last Sunday
Action Images via Reuters
Alan Smith29 March 2019

Anyone who saw Mauricio Pochettino watch last Sunday’s first test game at Tottenham’s magnificent new stadium will realise how much the club means to him.

His excitement was obvious during the grand unveiling of a ground that sets new standards here and abroad. His pride overflowed when Maurizio, his son, took to the lush turf in the Under-18s game against Southampton. Out came the phone to capture the moment on film.

No doubt about it, Pochettino’s bond with Spurs runs much deeper than the usual business relationship. A naturally loyal character anyway, it would take an awful lot to prise him away, even if the manager jobs at Manchester United and Real Madrid were still available.

But if anything could end this enduring love affair, it would be the prospect of his team standing still or, much worse, going backwards. Someone with Pochettino’s vaulting ambition would struggle to stomach that, having put so much in to the venture so far.

And when I talk about going backwards, I don’t mean finishing fourth when you finished third last season. It’s more complex than that. It’s about failing to build on the progress made as a respected team of substance. It’s about falling back into bad habits to revive the old reputation as a bit of a pushover.

Spurs, it must be said, remain a long way from doing that, but Pochettino, nonetheless, would have been very worried with the way his side have played in dropping 11 points over the last four Premier League games. In particular, the defeat at Southampton three weeks ago seemed to betray a lack of self-belief.

Why that would be, who can say? Such a talented bunch of players should be imposing themselves on matches like this with a lot more authority. Pochettino will certainly be hoping the long break can trigger a return to better things. Time away from each other can often do a lot of good, especially at this stage in a long season when, after spending so much time together, you can start to get irritable with team-mates.

But with the finishing line almost in sight, the dressing-room mood tends to change, it starts to crank up, and that probably applies to Spurs more than anyone else. Reunited after the internationals, Harry Kane and Co have the new stadium to think about, which will definitely give the squad a huge lift.

It follows that Sunday’s trip to Anfield may see a rejuvenated outfit much more like the one to Pochettino’s liking. The Argentine will be demanding a proper return to standards, knowing that anything less won’t be enough, either against Liverpool or indeed Manchester City, who they soon face three times in quick succession.

In pictures | Tottenham train at new stadium | 28/03/2019

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For the Spurs manager, the next month, in fact, starkly reveals where his team stands compared to those rivals. With the United and Real posts filled, it would be a sobering experience to discover that Tottenham still lag a long way behind.

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