Things aren’t great for Tottenham Hotspur right now.
Harry Winks has described Tottenham Hotspur as a ‘title-challenging side’ in a passionate but misguided defence of under-fire manager Mauricio Pochettino.
Pressure is mounting on the Spurs boss after Saturday’s 3-0 defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion made it a very dark week in the modern history of the North London club.
Last Tuesday, Pochettino’s side lost 7-2 at home to Bayern Munich in a Champions League clash and it appears as if the Argentine is losing the support of his playing staff – a suggestion that the Tottenham midfielder has denied.
It was only June that the Lilywhites contested a Champions League final, ultimately losing to Liverpool in Madrid, and Winks is adamant that he and his team-mates still back the former Southampton manager.
He told Football London when asked if they’re in Pochettino’s corner: “Of course we are. He’s our manager and he’s been fantastic the last six seasons he’s been at the club and he’s taken this club to new levels and brand new heights and that’s thanks to him.
“In the last six years we’ve come such a long way and we’ve become a title-challenging side.
“Today we’ve not shown that and this season we’ve probably not shown that, we’ve shown it in parts in certain games where we’ve played really well.”
Thing is, Tottenham aren’t a title-challenging side. Winks acknowledges that this season, with the team 13 points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool, but it’s been a while since they’ve been in the mix.
Last season, Pochettino’s side finished 27 points behind champions Manchester City. The year before that, 23 points.
They did push Chelsea close during the 2016-17 campaign, finishing runners-up by seven points. But that was 2017 and there’s no escaping the fact that Tottenham – who finished 11 points behind Leicester City in 2016, and third – have really only mounted one challenge in Pochettino’s six years in charge.
Tottenham have as many second-place finishes as Arsenal since 2016, but few would use the word ‘title’ when talking about the Gunners, who finished a point behind their bitter rivals last term.
There’s no denying that the Argentine has done a phenomenal job in North London, but he isn’t, as Winks claims, a manager whose team are regularly in the mix at the top end of the Premier League table and it makes you wonder whether the playing staff realise their own regression on the domestic front.
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