Why Expectations Are the Biggest Issue Facing Tottenham Ahead of the New Season

The appointment of Mauricio Pochettino was supposed to be a break in Tottenham Hotspur's boom-and-bust managerial cycle. 

From Martin Jol to Juande Ramos, Harry Redknapp and Andre Villas-Boas, many of Spurs' recent appointments to the top job have seemed ill considered and reactionary. 

Jol lacked big-name clout and trophy-winning experience. 

Ramos had those and even won a trophy in his first season, but he couldn't relate to his players or even speak their language. 

Redknapp was down to earth but lacked tactical sophistication and any kind of diplomatic skills. 

Villas-Boas could talk the talk but was ultimately incapable of getting the best out of his team after the sale of Gareth Bale. 

When Spurs selected Pochettino, it was with a long-term plan in mind. 

He received a five-year contract when he agreed to join the club from Southampton, as chairman Daniel Levy seemingly recognised the flaws in his previous choices. 

Pochettino would have time to build his team in his own image, and that began in earnest in year one. 

The Spurs lineup on the final day of the season contained just four players who had started the equivalent fixture 12 months earlier. 

Not only was Pochettino orchestrating significant changes in personnel, he was helping to build a culture within the club by his promotion of younger and less experienced players. 

Eric Dier, Ryan Mason and even Harry Kane probably would have played far less under Pochettino's predecessors. 

The wisdom of the Argentine's approach was born out as Spurs pipped Liverpool to fifth place, reached a cup final and produced some of their best performances in years to beat Arsenal and Chelsea at home. 

Ironically, Pochettino's success is now his greatest enemy. 

Last season, there was no realistic expectation of Tottenham reaching the Champions League. 

In fact, after Southampton's brilliant start to the season, even qualifying for the Europa League seemed a remote possibility.

In the end, Pochettino fell just two wins short of taking Spurs into Europe's top competition. 

That means expectations this season have been adjusted accordingly. 

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Now there is belief, founded in reality, that Spurs are good enough to finish in the top four. 

Spurs have one of the best young sides in Europe. 

Christian Eriksen, Kane, Nabil Bentaleb and the Belgian duo of Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen are an excellent spine, and Hugo Lloris remains among the world's finest goalkeepers. 

With Nacer Chadli, fresh from an excellent second season in England, Erik Lamela, a brilliant talent just finding his feet in England and four genuine top-class full-backs, that spine has quality support. 

Of course, Tottenham's rivals, too, have great strength and depth. 

Manchester United have made several quality additions in Bastian Schweinsteiger, Memphis Depay, Morgan Schneiderlin and Matteo Darmian. At this point, the red half of Manchester appears to have moved beyond Spurs' reaches and joined Chelsea as relatively untouchable. 

That may prove to be an overestimation, but United are now, on paper, among the strongest teams in England. 

Liverpool have also spent wildly, but their additions do not seem to have improved them drastically, and they remain at Spurs' level. 

Arsenal and Manchester City are the great unknowns ahead of this season. 

If the malaise that affected their title defence does not abate, City's abundantly talented squad could slip down into the fourth-place battleground. 

Arsenal, buoyant after a second FA Cup triumph in two years, have been widely tipped for a title challenge. But their fragilities remain, and that is unlikely to come to pass. 

For Tottenham, returning to the Champions League will be a huge challenge. 

There are three teams that possess far more talent than they do and two others that have more money and transfer clout—as well as recent experience of being there—that makes them favourites over Spurs. 

The general level of quality in the league is also on the rise. 

Crystal Palace, for so long a team just about good enough to be in England's top flight, now possess a brilliant central midfield and genuine stars in both attack and defence.

That is an indication of the challenge awaiting Spurs beyond their direct top-four rivals. 

Were Spurs to simply consolidate their place as a top-four contender this season, that would be genuine progress. 

After a disastrous season under the AVB-Tim Sherwood tandem, Pochettino righted the ship. But to keep his team among those battling it out atop the Premier League would be an achievement in itself. 

Unfortunately for Spurs and Pochettino, that is no longer good enough. 

In today's Premier League, perception is everything, and Spurs have jumped from being seen as an irrelevance to a contender. 

That means that if they begin to struggle, the media will be irrepressible. They will pursue Pochettino as a charlatan and mock his infamously difficult training sessions. There will be criticism of the Europa League as an exhausting distraction despite the fact that teams across Europe have no such issues.

Even Kane, the golden boy of English football, will be the victim of vicious attacks from journalists and fans alike if he fails to replicate his astonishing first full season in the Premier League. 

All of this is, of course, inevitable. 

Spurs will hit a bad patch, possibly more than once. Every team does. 

With such a young team and a relatively thin squad, it is not a question of if but when fatigue and self-doubt strikes. There will almost certainly be a frustrating 1-0 home defeat to a relegation candidate. After all, some things never change, and that is a staple of Tottenham's Premier League campaigns. 

The management of expectations will be key, because when these difficulties do strike, it has the potential to spin out of control. 

The cacophony from the peanut gallery will be irresistible—as it was after the 5-0 home defeat to Liverpool that ended AVB's tenure. 

At that point, Spurs were not in a particularly difficult position, but the scale of the result, in a televised match at White Hart Lane, compelled a rash decision from Spurs' board. 

The expectations among fans and journalists for Tottenham's looming Premier League campaign are high and already probably unrealistic. 

When they travel to Manchester for an opening-day match at Old Trafford, those expectations will meet reality. 

If they fail the earliest of tests, the pressure will build. 

Tottenham have an excellent young team with the potential to grow into a superb side over time. 

The problem for Spurs is that the growth of expectations after a surprising performance in Pochettino's first season may prevent them from having the chance to do so.