Tottenham Prepare for Crunch End to the Season as Concern Grows Over Future of Players & Manager
Tottenham Hotspur are facing a massively important end of the season run which could determine the progress of the club going forward.
With Chelsea breathing down their necks in the Premier League, concern is brewing over Tottenham's place in the Champions League next season. The club will want to be in as strong a position as possible when they move into their new stadium, but a number of doubts are beginning to emerge surrounding the players and manager Mauricio Pochettino.
The Mirror have identified four keys concerns which Spurs will need to contend with in the summer and as they transition from their temporary home at Wembley to their new ground.
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Finishing in the top four is Tottenham's most immediate concern. While Spurs are without a win in their last two league matches, Chelsea have rallied in recent weeks with three straight wins. The Blues have closed the gap on fourth place Tottenham to just two points with three games to go.
Tottenham's Champions League status is in their hands, for now. A win against Watford in their next match will widen to gap to five points and put them just a point behind third place Liverpool.
Meanwhile, manager Mauricio Pochettino has raised some eyebrows with his foreboding comments following his side's defeat to Manchester United in the FA Cup semi final where he appeared to hint that he might not be a the club for much longer.
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Finally, keeping this group of players together whilst adhering to the club's strict wage structure is continuing to be of concern. There are also doubts over whether the new stadium build could impact summer transfer budgets.
Silverware has eluded the club for another year following their FA Cup exit, and Spurs may find it difficult to keep hold of their biggest stars when other clubs will be offering them huge wage increases. Toby Alderweireld looks closer to the exit door than ever, while speculation remains over the futures of Danny Rose and Mousa Dembele.
"Daniel Levy trusts me and the club trusts me to develop this project," Pochettino has recently reiterated.
"We are victims of our own success because we are ahead in our project."
"In my first meeting with Daniel Levy (the chairman) and Joe Lewis (the owner) the target was to arrive in the new stadium in four years and create a team with the possibility to fight for the top four and in the second year of the new stadium to play Champions League.
"It [the new stadium] is suddenly not going to change everything and millions of pounds will rain from the sky. It's important to review and to set the principles again and how it will be with the team once we move.
"We are brave, and maybe we need to be more brave in our future decisions to try to win."
