Mauricio Pochettino: Why we didn’t add to squad

Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino said his side were not prepared to compromise on their ethos in order to make summer signings.

Mauricio Pochettino: Why we didn’t add to squad

Jonathan Veal

Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino said his side were not prepared to compromise on their ethos in order to make summer signings.

Spurs were the first side in Premier League history not to bring any new faces in since the summer transfer window’s inception, though they have gone on to enjoy their joint-best start to a Premier League season.

Chairman Daniel Levy told the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust that though they did try to make signings, the club stand by their ultimate lack of activity and Pochettino agrees with him.

“We tried to sign and but we could not achieve what we need or what we want,” he said.

“I think one thing is to make clear; all the coaching staff, managers, always want to improve the squad.

“Of course we are always trying to improve our squad because football is dynamic. Every six months you need to do something to refresh and to wake up. That is the history in every single club.

“But if you can not achieve what you need or want, because you need to sign because you need to make people happy or act like all the clubs, I think that is not common sense.

“We showed that we are not populous…it is easy to say that we are going to sign three players and, oh look, the people are happy because we signed.

If we don’t need the players who are available to sign then why are we going to sign (them)? That is the point.

Spurs are not as cash-rich as the teams they are competing with at the top of the league and they are also building a new stadium which costs are rising towards £1bn (€1.1bn).

Pochettino has hinted that their new home — which is still not ready — could affect their clout in the transfer market.

“That can be one reason,” Pochettino added. “Another reason is the philosophy or the plan or how we want to behave on the market or the idea to develop.

“The pressure of Tottenham is maybe different today and the reality is different at other clubs that are competing for the same things.”

Tottenham resume their Premier League campaign, where they have won their last three games, with a trip across London to West Ham tomorrow.

And they have better news on the injury front as Christian Eriksen and Mousa Dembele are fit again after respective abdomen and thigh problems.

Dele Alli (hamstring) and Danny Rose (groin) remain 10 days away from fitness and Jan Vertonghen (hamstring) still has a way to go in his recovery.

It was a good time for us because we are going to recover a few players like Christian and Mousa Dembele,” the boss added.

“Still maybe 10 days more for Dele Alli and Danny Rose is the same, one week more. Jan Vertonghen is a little bit longer.

“But the most important thing is that we start to recover players. It will be a tough month of competition for us.”

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