Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino has sent out a firm message to the senior staff at the club by claiming the club must change the way they operate if they are to win titles. The Argentine boss, who is yet to win a trophy in English football, is fighting for the Premier League title this year with a much smaller budget than those sides around him.
He said: "If we want to win titles we need to operate in a different way. At the moment we operate in the same way as five years ago when we arrived. Maybe we can win some titles but it is going to be a tough job to do because in that situation every club in the last five years was improving a lot.
"I saw a stat that in the last 10 years we were bottom of the spending list in Europe. We are doing a fantastic job but if we want to be real contenders we need to operate in a different way in the future."
Pochettino did not make any signings in the summer and Spurs were the first Premier League side to do this since the modern transfer window was introduced in 2003. Despite the lack of signings, Spurs are into the knockout stages of the Champions League, into the semi-finals of the League Cup and fourth round of the FA Cup, all whilst maintaining a top four finish in the Premier League.
Although he is yet to win any silverware, the gaffer made it clear what targets had been set out for him by Daniel Levy.
"The most important thing is I accepted the challenge when Daniel Levy called me to offer me a contract. He was clear, him and [owner] Joe Lewis, they said to me 'In the first season at the new stadium we need a team to finish in the top four the season after.' We are in advance. Sometimes I laugh when people say we need to win a trophy. Yes, but we are in advance.
Spurs were of course due to move into their new stadium this season but delays on that mean it now may be delayed until the start of the next campaign.
"We are in an amazing position, the club is finishing one of the best stadiums in the world, the team is so competitive."
"In the last four of five years we play so well, the people enjoy a lot watching us but we need in some moments to be, I don't know if the word is naughty, but smart in how you compete and that we still miss. But we have the opportunity in the next few months to show we are capable to be more competitive.”
Pochettino, of course, has been hotly linked with the Manchester United job in the summer although, with the way Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has started his managerial career at the club, the United legend may have that one sewn up.