Tottenham Hotspur: How Attractive Is White Hart Lane to Players?

What the summer has in store for Tottenham Hotspur will become apparent soon enough.

Pre-season is not far off, and with it we will begin to find out who new manager Mauricio Pochettino wants as part of his squad heading into the new campaign.

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As part of this process, the likelihood is one or two new faces will also be arriving at White Hart Lane.

Despite a 2013-14 season disrupted by managerial change and its resulting aftershocks, moving forward Tottenham remain a club capable of attracting and keeping a good calibre of player.

The absence of Champions League football after last season's sixth-place Premier League finish is not a new issue. Although a blow to their overall aspirations, they have recruited highly-regarded players in the past without it and will do so again.

One of last summer's signings, Romania international defender Vlad Chiriches, told Tottenham's official website when he joined he had seen "them in Premier League and the Europa League too, and the team has had so many good games." It is an example that, while undoubtedly attractive, the Champions League is not the only competition capable of tempting players or advertising a club to them.

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Read just about any of the introductory official website interviews with Spurs' 2013 purchases and you will find them referencing the Premier League and/or the team's overall solid performances in it over recent years. The level of competition is compelling, and—though this will be absent in any interviews they give—the financial incentives are better than just about any other league in Europe below the top few teams in any country.

Roberto Soldado also brought up the fact "the shirt that has so much history," while Paulinho noted the club's training facilities.

The most frequently mentioned reason besides playing in England, though, was the opportunity to play with the guys already at the club.

Even though several of these new signings had troubled first seasons in England, the prospect of playing with them and their other team-mates will remain an enticing one for possible new additions, too.

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The fact is, there are only so many spaces available in the very top sides. Of those already at Spurs, Eriksen or Hugo Lloris (and perhaps some others) could find a more immediate chance of success elsewhere. But they took up a challenge at Spurs, and there appears to still be some hunger to make it work.

"Everyone has been in the Premier League for a season now, everyone has shown character and shown that we can bounce back," Eriksen told TottenhamHotspur.com. "We now need to go and achieve our targets for next season."

Albeit briefly, Erik Lamela has suggested on social media his desire to get things right after injuries ultimately cut short his first season at Spurs.

Even with Tottenham's recent proximity to, and battle for a top four place, the end of last season was as far away as they have been from getting there. Not so much in points, but in their struggle to beat the teams (other than Everton) above them.

It gets us to the chief factor that will influence just how attractive playing for Spurs will be this season, and in the next few years: Pochettino.

He may have had nothing to do with the good, the bad and the in-between that preceded him, but how that influences this upcoming season is all his responsibility now. Upon his appointment, he immediately set his stall out, again via the club's official website:

"

There is an abundance of top-class talent at the Club and I am looking forward to starting work with the squad.

Tottenham Hotspur has a huge following across the world and I have great admiration for the passion the fans show for this team. We are determined to give the supporters the kind of attacking football and success that we are all looking to achieve.

"

You would expect nothing less in an opening statement from a new hire, of course. Now Pochettino will be striving to convince others he has the ideas and the ability to back up the expectations he has laid out.

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His credentials from his admirable work at Southampton will be a useful tool in getting his new players on board (as much as he needs to, anyway). It might aid any attempts to recruit others from within England, too.

The Argentinian's respectable playing career with club and country saw him play at home, in France and in Spain—also managing in the latter's La Liga with Espanyol. That familiarity with him abroad will not hurt attempts to sign overseas players either (although it did not ultimately work out, Dani Osvaldo was one such transfer at Southampton).

Beyond the next few months, lingering concern remains over Tottenham's response if things take time to click with Pochettino. For now, though, he must make the most of the optimism of a new day, in the hope this will not come to be regarded as another false dawn over White Hart Lane.