I'm here to win - Pochettino issues statement of intent

After a quiet off-season in the transfer market, Tottenham's Mauricio Pochettino has offered a reminder of his desire to lift trophies.

Mauricio Pochettino insists he is determined to win silverware with Tottenham Hotspur and is not satisfied merely with securing regular Champions League qualification.

Spurs has finished third or second in each of the previous three Premier League seasons, leaving the team increasingly familiar with UEFA's elite continental competition.

The north London side was runner-up behind Chelsea in 2016-17 and pushed Leicester City throughout much of the Foxes' surprise title-winning campaign in 2015-16, before falling away in the final weeks.

And former Espanyol and Southampton boss Pochettino has rejected suggestions the club is content to retain a place in the top four.

"If some people believe the manager of Tottenham doesn't want to win they are not right in their minds," he told the Daily Mail .

"I'm here to win. The reality is to win and to have the argument about whether you have the tools to win is a different matter. We have had massive success at the club, getting [to the] Champions League for a third year in a row.

"But maybe that is not enough and maybe we need to change certain things because for me it is not enough. I want to challenge and fight to win things until the end, that moment when my chairman Daniel Levy says to me, 'Mauricio go home and find another project'.

"Winning is my concern and I feel responsible for this after four years with the club to try to achieve this.

"Maybe our history and the reality is different, but the players are fighting and working so hard and we are there with them." 

Tottenham has overhauled its training facilities and is building a new stadium on the site of White Hart Lane at great expense.

Pochettino acknowledged the importance of investing in Spurs' infrastructure, despite the projects leaving the club unable to match the transfer spending taking place at the likes of Manchester City and Manchester United. 

"To compete at that level and challenge the big sides that have focused on improving their teams, while the reality for us has been improving our facilities, such as building the training ground and new stadium, I think it is not fair to compare us with these kind of clubs," he said.

"We are competing in the same race but in a different way."