OPINION
Mauricio Pochettino has vented his frustrations in a post-match interview following his side’s 1-0 win against Real Madrid on Tuesday night.
Harry Kane scored the only goal of the game at the Allianz Arena but all the talk will now be about what Pochettino said afterwards.
As quoted in the Guardian, Pochettino said the club should change his job title as he has no say over transfers at the club.
“I am not in charge and I know nothing about the situation of my players,” Pochettino said.
“I am only coaching them and trying to get the best from them. Sell, buy players, sign contract, not sign contract – I think it is not in my hands, it’s in the club’s hands and [chairman] Daniel Levy.
“The club need to change my title and description. Of course I am the boss deciding the strategic play, but in another area I don’t know. Today, I feel like I am the coach.”
Bad timing
It’s not the first time that Pochettino has spoken out about transfers but the timing of this latest outburst is both odd and worrying from a Tottenham perspective.
Spurs are starting the new season in their new stadium and with a club-record signing in Tanguy Ndombele.
However, it seems that Pochettino is frustrated both at the lack of more incomings – it’s fair to say that an imminent new signing seems unlikely now – and uncertainty over existing players such as Danny Rose.
The new season kicks off in just over a week and you’d have hoped that Pochettino and Levy were on the same page and armed with the same plan. That doesn’t seem to be the case.
Dangerous game
It’s tough to see a time when Tottenham would get rid of Pochettino but it’s a dangerous game to keep airing your dirty laundry in public and it begs the question, what purpose does it serve?
Levy won’t be happy about the public display of disharmony and there are signs that some Spurs fans are starting to lose patience with Pochettino too.
All the evidence seems to point towards Pochettino not getting what he wants at Tottenham and if he wants to be a manager who’s consistently challenging for the top prizes in football, maybe Spurs aren’t the club for him.
Saying your only job is getting the best from existing players certainly paints him in a good light. There’s no doubt that Pochettino has done a brilliant job with the current crop of stars.
However, a big part of the manager’s job is to present the club in a good light in public. Pochettino is failing here and he let the fans down last night.
Put bluntly he should stop bickering in public and get on with his job – whatever that is.