At the start of the 2015/16 season, Leicester City carried on with the kind of form in which they had ended the previous season and never looked back as they won their first ever league title. Mauricio Pochettino will be hoping that his Tottenham team do not do likewise given that they flopped somewhat spectacularly in their last four games, taking just two points from a possible twelve despite having led in three of those games.
It appeared that with Champions League qualification for the group stages secured, and hope of a sustained Premier League title challenge no longer on the cards, the players seemed to take their foot off the gas. The end of season humiliation at Newcastle in particular did not sit well with the Tottenham’s manager, who admitted that it had given him and his coaching staff things to think about, especially as he believed the downturn in form to have been a mental one.
Mauricio Pochettino Must Build On Tottenham Momentum
Add to this conundrum that fact that many of his players will be away on international duty at Euro 2016, then it is likely that he will have to concern himself as to what impact fatigue will play on his players given that they will not have enjoyed a full off season break. The high intensity with which his team plays will demand that fitness levels are high from the off, and Pochettino will not want a repeat of the paltry three points from the first four games like last season.
The summer period will be an important one for Pochettino. He has laid good foundations at White Hart Lane with a very young squad and with Champions League football on the agenda again, squad depth will need to be addressed not just in terms of numbers but quality too. One criticism the team faced was that in the final games the replacements for the suspended Dele Alli and Mousa Dembele did not have a similar impact on the game as the players they were replacing. It could be argued that the two suspended players were hard acts to follow given the seasons they had, but the point is valid.
Player recruitment will be key, therefore, not only so that Tottenham will be able to compete in the Premier League and Champions League, but to also ensure that the team does not carry its end of season form in to the new campaign. They will need to hit the ground running this time and the club will need a fully fit and competitive squad from match day one next season. Whilst a hunting pack of lions may portray good images on social media, it is likely that Pochettino will not want another season chasing a runaway leader.
The Premier League will become even more competitive as teams build their squads and take advantage of the new television revenues that will be filtering in to their bank accounts. Pochettino will, therefore, no doubt be looking to ensure that he has adequate replacements not just for Dembele and Alli, but also Harry Kane, Eric Dier, Toby Alderweireld and Christian Eriksen too, if for nothing else but to ensure that there is adequate competition for places. Bringing in new players will always run the risk of dislodging what appears to be a unified and harmonious dressing room, but this is why Pochettino is no longer just the head coach. He is now the manager, and manage he must.
Player identification will have to be swift as often targeted players that have a good summer championship such as Euro 2016 will see their attractiveness and their price tag spike. Paul Mitchell and his infamous black box will need to have already identified options for Pochettino and together with Daniel Levy they face a critical period of activity to maintain last season’s momentum. Tottenham acted swiftly last summer to secure the services of Kevin Wimmer and Toby Alderweireld and similarly acted quickly in the previous window to acquire Dele Alli. It seems that if the club want a player badly enough transactions can take place swiftly. The club will have to be on the ball again this summer as they look to build on an excellent 2015/16 season.
Main Photo: STOKE ON TRENT, ENGLAND – APRIL 18: Mauricio Pochettino manager of Tottenham Hotspur applauds the travelling fans after victory in the Barclays Premier League match between Stoke City and Tottenham Hotspur at the Britannia Stadium on April 18, 2016 in Stoke on Trent, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
