Mauricio Pochettino is in daily contact with Tottenham recruitment chief Steve Hitchen about transfer plans, according to his assistant Jesus Perez.
In an interview with Football London, Pochettino’s number two gave some insight into a normal day at the Hotspur Way training ground in Enfield.
Perez explained he and Pochettino are at the training ground for up to 12 hours every day and share the commute together in the same car as they live only a minute’s drive apart.
“I arrive at 7.30am normally. I have half an hour breakfast in the restaurant, 15-20 minutes in my office on my own and then when Mauricio calls us we go to his office and we are there for 30 or 40 minutes,” he told Football London.
“Then I go at 9am to a medical meeting in my office and we adjust 28 training plans. We discuss player by player every day.
“Then it’s back to Mauricio’s office until training starts. It’s not only video or training and drills, you spend a lot of time doing everything and Mauricio spends time with John [McDermott, Spurs’ academy head] and Steve [Hitchen, the club’s chief scout] talking, discussing and explaining. Then normally it depends, 5, 6 or 7pm when Mauricio decides it’s enough for the day. We spend 10 to 12 hours here every day.”
OPINION
Should Spurs fans be heartened that Pochettino is in daily contact with Hitchen, the man he hailed as “fantastic” after advising him to sign Lucas Moura from Paris Saint-Germain in January? Yes. A healthy dialogue between the manager and the chief scout is vital to ensure the club recruit the right players at the right time. That Tottenham did not sign anyone in the summer – a Premier League record the manager has made it clear he did not want his club to make – is not down to Hitchen or Pochettino. The board must take full responsibility for failing to provide the funds to reinforce the team after years of racking up healthy profits in the annual accounts. Spurs are a cash-rich club, at least they were before the new stadium drained their resources and boardroom energy. The key for Pochettino and Hitchen is to strengthen in January through at least one, and possibly two players capable of slotting into the first team.