Spurs having a ‘tough period’

Head coach Mauricio Pochettino accepts Tottenham are going through a "tough period", but believes something special is in the offing — with silverware not too far away.

The past few seasons have been turbulent at White Hart Lane, thanks in no small part to the club’s frantic search for a return to the Champions League.

Harry Redknapp departed little more than a year on from taking Spurs to the quarter-final stage of the competition, while successors Andre Villas-Boas and Tim Sherwood paid for their inability to secure qualification.

Pochettino, though, is not under the same pressure to secure immediate Champions League football, with the five-year deal handed to him in the summer by chairman Daniel Levy highlighting a longer-term focus.

Spurs crashed to a 4-1 defeat against Manchester City last weekend but speaking ahead of tonight’s clash with Greek side Asteras Tripolis (8.05pm, live on Setanta Ireland), Pochettino said: “I have enjoyed my four months at Tottenham. We knew when we signed for Tottenham that we expected a tough period.

“We are in a very tough period in the club, but when you arrive to a club with big potential like Tottenham, a big club, and have the possibility to build something important, this is a very good challenge for us.

“I enjoy, but I try to enjoy it more than I am. I am aware of the results.”

Pochettino, who rejected talk of an issue with Jan Vertonghen, added: “I am sure that in the end we achieve something important. Maybe in six months, maybe in one year, or maybe in two years.

“But I am sure that the club, in the end, will achieve a very important trophy.”