Pochettino hopes Tottenham’s time has come

Mauricio Pochettino believes Tottenham are finally ready to cast off their reputation as serial under-achievers.

Spurs last won the title in 1961 and the club have picked up only two major trophies since their 1991 FA Cup triumph, lifting the League Cup in 1999 and 2008.

Strong runs in recent seasons have also regularly ended in disappointment.

Harry Redknapp’s 2012 title challengers tumbled to fourth and then missed out on a Champions League place to European champions Chelsea, while in 2006 Tottenham dropped out of the top four on the final day after a number of players were struck down by food poisoning.

It means the club have earned a reputation for falling short when it comes to the crunch but manager Pochettino sees his side, sitting second in the table, as a fresh proposition.

“I think we are different people now,” Pochettino said.

“I think it is difficult to explain but today we live in the present, and the group of players and the staff and the club and the president and the supporters believe we are strong and we can compete in different competitions and we can win every game and this is important.

“It is only three years I have been in England and it is too difficult to explain.

“Maybe I can speak better about clubs in Spain and Argentina, but here in England Tottenham have great supporters, staff, players and we show we have a winning mentality.

“I think that to speak about the past is not fair because from the beginning of the season we show with our supporters we can get success from the season.”

Pochettino’s men beat Watford 1-0 on Saturday and they now sit level on goal difference with Arsenal, one point above Manchester City and five behind surprise leaders Leicester.

The top four play each other next weekend as Tottenham visit the Etihad Stadium while Arsenal host Leicester, and Pochettino believes his side can be confident against Manchester City, whom they beat 4-1 earlier in the season.

“Always confident, always,” Pochettino said. “Because you need to translate the belief to your players, make the players feel that you believe.

“And then it’s football, you can win, you can lose, but you need to believe and now we need to prepare for the next game and ensure that we can be ready.

“Our best game was against City, yes, when we won 4-1.

“I think Saturday against Watford was one of the best games. Maybe only 1-0 but I think if we analyse the game we played very well. I think it was one of the best games.”