Mauricio Pochettino Says Tottenham's 'Fragile' Reputation Has to Change

Mauricio Pochettino has urged Tottenham Hotspur fans to have more faith in him and the club and said there is more work to do to change their "fragile" reputation.

Spurs have enjoyed an excellent start to the 2018-19 season despite making no summer signings, and they sit third in the Premier League.

Ahead of the north London club's visit to Everton on Sunday, Pochettino aired his frustration that every decision Tottenham make is always perceived in a negative way, per ESPN FC's Ben Pearce:

"In this football club, if some bad results arrive the situation is going to turn again. All the positives today will be reversed and become negatives, because we're still not solid in our ideas. We believe but don't really believe. We're happy but not so happy. I think there's still massive work to do.

"I'm not talking about inside of the club, I talk about the perception outside, the people outside. We're so fragile. We're still not solid enough as a club to support some good and some bad [periods] because the perception of the people can affect the club.

"I think we're changing a lot and we're going to change, if we have time to do that. But our self-belief is still so fragile. We're doing fantastically, but if we don't sign in January people say we're going to struggle. It's all negative, rather than saying, 'If Tottenham don't sign anyone it's because they believe that they're going to, or that they have the tools to, perform well and maybe challenge for the title.

"The doubt is always negative, never positive. Maybe that's because of the history, because of what happened in the past. We need to fight with this perception. Of course, we need to read the media, listen to the fans, but in the end, we need to feel free to take the decisions."

The Argentinian manager hinted strongly recently that there would be no new signings in January, meaning Spurs will have to see out the season with their current squad:

Tottenham do not have the same squad depth as the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City, who are the front-runners in the title race.

They are also enduring a slight injury crisis, with Eric Dier, Jan Vertonghen, Mousa Dembele, Davinson Sanchez and Victor Wanyama all sidelined.

However, they have lost just one of their past 12 games in all competitions and beat Arsenal on Wednesday to progress to the Carabao Cup semi-finals.

Pochettino, 46, has proved in his four-and-a-half years at the club that, despite not boasting the resources of the Premier League's other major teams, he can make Spurs competitive.

They have finished in the top three in each of the past three seasons and have established themselves as a regular fixture in the UEFA Champions League.

Clearly, Pochettino feels he and his Spurs side have earned the right to be given the benefit of the doubt.

The former Southampton manager has been widely touted as a potential permanent replacement for Jose Mourinho at Manchester United since the Portuguese was sacked on Tuesday:

At Old Trafford, he would likely be given much more money to spend in the transfer market than he has had at Tottenham.

But it is clear Pochettino is still focused on the job at hand as Spurs look to compete for the title this season and push to win silverware.