Mauricio Pochettino Says Tottenham Need 'Another Magic Guy' to Win Titles

Mauricio Pochettino says Tottenham Hotspur may need "another magic guy" if they want to win major trophies as they are "not fighting with the same tools" as their rivals.

Recent back-to-back defeats against Burnley and Chelsea have seen Spurs' Premier League title ambitions dashed for another season.

They still look well set to finish in the top four for the fourth season running, although a defeat to local rivals Arsenal on Saturday would throw that into doubt as well:

Pochettino has overseen Tottenham's development into perennial challengers since taking charge in 2014, but he has often taken criticism for failing to win any silverware with the north London side.

According to the Argentinian, though, he should not be expected to have won trophies given Spurs' relatively limited resources, per Peter Hanson of Goal: 

"Maybe, if [Tottenham chairman] Daniel Levy said to me next season 'we need to win a title, we need to win the Champions League or Premier League' maybe I say to Daniel you need to find another magic guy that can do this because we are not going to change how we operate.

"We can be there? Yes. Are we going to fight? Yes. Are we going to be competitive? Of course. But you can't say we need to win if we don't fight with the same tools. But you cannot put a gun [to my head] and say, 'we need to win' if we're not fighting with the same tools as another team.

"I hear people say, 'Pochettino is there for five years and didn't win.' Of course, I didn't win but, for me, what we are doing here is more than win a title."

Tottenham are, by some distance, the thriftiest side in the Premier League's top six.

Pep Guardiola has spent more than £500 million on his title-winning Manchester City squad since taking over the club in 2016, and Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United all have significantly greater resources than Spurs.

Meanwhile, top-of-the-table Liverpool, who used to be comparable to Spurs in their spending, have recently spent £75 million on Virgil van Dijk, £66 million on Alisson, more than £50 million on Naby Keita and £43.7 million on Fabinho.

Tottenham did not spend a single penny in last summer's transfer window, while the Reds topped the spending chart with a £177 million outlay. 

It is paying dividends for Liverpool, as they are closing in on a first title win since 1990.

But the fact that Spurs were keeping pace with Liverpool and City until the end of February is fairly remarkable:

Pochettino's side are also on the verge of qualifying for the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League, as they have a 3-0 lead over Borussia Dortmund from their last-16 first leg.

Few expect Spurs to go all the way in Europe's major club competition, but it is a mark of how far they have come under Pochettino that it is not a surprise they will likely be in the pot for the last-eight draw.