Mauricio Pochettino Says He Has 'The Worst Feeling' in 5 Years with Tottenham

Mauricio Pochettino has said he feels the worst he has in his entire time as Tottenham Hotspur manager and his frustration at the club's failure to win silverware is "massive."

Pochettino is in his fifth year as Spurs boss and this season has helped them rack up 21 points from nine matches to record their best start to a Premier League campaign, per the Mirror's John Cross.

However, after watching his side draw with PSV Eindhoven to take just one point from their first three UEFA Champions League matches and ahead of Spurs' clash with Manchester City on Monday, Pochettino said:

"This season, my feeling is the worst. The season so far, it's strange because my feeling is the worst feeling I've had in the five years that I've been here. It's the worst. But it's the best start ever for the club in the Premier League. It’s strange, no?"

The Argentinian said he was disappointed the Lilywhites have not moved into their new stadium on schedule—now delayed until next year—and added: "I don't know, many things happened in the summer, many things that make myself not in my best mood or best humour."

In contrast to some of their big-spending rivals, Spurs failed to sign a single player in the summer transfer window, which was a Premier League first.

Cross and Ian Ladyman of the Daily Mail discussed Tottenham's situation on Sunday Supplement, and they believe the club's lack of investment over the summer was a costly decision:

Pochettino has led Tottenham to three consecutive top-four Premier League finishes, but he said the lack of resources compared to the rest of their top-six rivals has been frustrating: "The way we have been competing in the last few years, the frustration is massive because we have had less in every single aspect."

He believes there's still plenty of room for improvement in their performances, too, as he said "we are not showing that level to be a real contender," and that the distraction of off-field issues such as the stadium delay means "the club is not focused completely in winning titles or winning games."

Last week, Tottenham failed to see out their match against PSV from a winning position after Hugo Lloris was sent off.

Dan Kilpatrick of the Evening Standard believes that while the Frenchman's exit contributed to their failure to win, he also pinpointed the team's mentality:

Spurs have come a long way under Pochettino, but the draw was a reminder they're yet to fully escape their historical reputation for caving under pressure.

The manager believes it is the final hurdle his side need to overcome before silverware can follow:

"I think, like a team, we still didn't win nothing. We fail but we achieve. And of course, like you ask at different press conferences, that always when we arrive at like a final game, we always fail.

"It's about learning to compete. It's about learning to be better. It's about changing something we need to do different.

"Or maybe we are never going to learn because we have some quality but we cannot cross this level. I prefer to think that we will learn more and we need more time to improve as a team."

It's understandable Spurs have attempted to pursue the Premier League title in recent years, given they've managed to assemble a squad that has gone toe-to-toe with and beaten the likes of Real Madrid last season.

They'll have been hungry to make amends after they proved to be Leicester City's closest rivals in the 2015-16 campaign before falling away in the final weeks, too.

However, they have been to just one final under Pochettino, which was in the League Cup back in his first campaign.

Had Spurs spent more time focusing on cup competitions during his tenure, they may well have secured one or perhaps several trophies, giving them much more to show for their improvement.

A win for the Lilywhites on Monday would put them just two points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool, and the team will hope to sustain a title challenge from there if that's the case, but targeting silverware in other competitions could yield much more success.