London: Tottenham open their Uefa Champions League campaign at Inter Milan on Tuesday bidding to banish the growing belief that they lack the steel to win major silverware.
Packed with dynamic young stars and well drilled by charismatic manager Mauricio Pochettino, Tottenham appear to have all the ingredients required for a winning recipe.
Having nine Tottenham players among the four World Cup semi-finalists, a group that does not include key players Christian Eriksen and Son Heung-min, underlines just how potent their squad should be.
Yet since Pochettino took charge in May 2014, Tottenham have proved English football’s ultimate tease.
Without silverware since the 2008 League Cup, Tottenham are in danger of becoming European football’s nearly men, a predicament that has raised the stakes for Pochettino and his players.
Entering this season with no new signings — there were no new faces partly due to the financial constraints of a delayed new stadium — has left Pochettino with his hands tied and the results have been entirely predictable.
When a 3-0 win at Manchester United extended Tottenham’s perfect start, many pundits were quick to hail them as serious rivals for City’s title.
But just days later, Tottenham reverted to type, allowing the momentum to slip from their grasp in a shock 2-1 defeat at Watford.
Saturday’s 2-1 home loss to Liverpool once again underlined that Spurs are far from the finished article, as a frustrated Pochettino admitted.
“The reality is this type of game shows we need to improve if we want to be contenders at the end to win some titles,” he said.
Harry Kane’s fatigued displays so far this season and the distraction of Hugo Lloris’s drink-driving arrest have added to the feeling that Pochettino faces the acid test of his managerial skills this season.
The Argentinian must find a way to imbue his team with a killer instinct they currently lack, and if the players prove unable to respond then he will have to press chairman Daniel Levy to make signings in January.
While it is too early to write off Tottenham’s chances of ending their trophy drought, Pochettino has made it clear he regards the Premier League and the Champions League as the only prizes that matter.
With Barcelona and PSV Eindhoven also in Tottenham’s group, a defeat at the San Siro would be a significant setback to Pochettino’s hopes of finally getting his hands on that long-awaited trophy.
