Mauricio Pochettino isn’t having the greatest of periods right now.
Tottenham Hotspur certainly aren’t having a disastrous period, and are fifth in the Premier League despite their loss to Leicester City on Saturday.
Despite that, there’s a growing negativity around the club, something simply doesn’t feel right, and much of that revolves around the manager.
On multiple occasions he’s made it clear to the Spanish speaking media he hasn’t been entirely happy with the approach at Tottenham to transfers, and it’s appeared he’s wanted that frustration to be known.
It may have helped give Daniel Levy a kick during the summer, and the signings of Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso are hardly to be sniffed at.
The chance of a move to Real Madrid is over until the latest Zidane era comes to an end, and there are repeat suggestions in Spain that Jose Mourinho will be the next man as Florentino Perez looks to put a shield between himself and criticism.
Mourinho and his drama can provide a distraction, and also give the squad the hard time Perez thinks they need.
Pochettino has said he’ll never manage Barcelona, given his Espanyol past, and with Diego Simeone looking comfortable at Atletico Madrid, that’s likely all the Spanish options gone for a move in the mid to medium term.
In England, it’s Manchester United who have been linked the most, yet it’s unlikely they’ll part with Ole Gunnar Solskjær unless they really have to.
The Tottenham manager may have another option in mind. Again speaking to the Argentine media, he’s made it clear his ‘dream’ and ‘priority’ job is the national team.
Speaking to Argentine TV, his comments have been picked up by TyC Sports: “The dream is always to be able to train the Argentine national team one day, as an Argentine that is indisputable, your country, your shirt, your flag… That is always a priority. What is clear is that the circumstances have to occur in a natural way so that it can happen. Today is difficult because my future and my circumstances have me in England.
“But personally, it will always be a dream, or one will always wait for the moment to have the opportunity to train the national team of his country.”
It’s clear Pochettino doesn’t want to force the issue, and by ‘future’ he could well mean in five years rather than sooner. The next time the job is available, it’ll be interesting to see how the Spurs boss reacts if contacted by the AFA, something which he says hasn’t happened yet.
