Share

Spurs lack financial might - Pochettino

London - Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino admits that Spurs cannot compete with the two Manchester clubs, who are level on points at the top of the Premier League, in the transfer market.

Pochettino's side face struggling Bournemouth at Wembley on Saturday, hoping to close the five-point gap to leaders Manchester City and second-placed Manchester United.

The top two both spent heavily during the recent transfer window and Pochettino concedes the financial strength of City and United means teams like Tottenham are forced to adopt a different strategy in the market as they attempt to keep pace.

The Argentinian told beIN Sports: "The difference these days between clubs in the Premier League is that there are clubs, like City and United, who sign who they want and when they want.

"Then there are big teams, like us, who sign when we can and who we can. It's the big difference today."

Tottenham headed into the international break having maintained their perfect league record on the road with a win at Huddersfield Town.

At their temporary home of Wembley, however, Pochettino's men have continued to struggle, claiming just two points from their three home games in the Premier League so far.

Anything less than victory over a Bournemouth side currently lying second-bottom will be viewed as a major disappointment.

Pochettino will be hoping Harry Kane can extend his prolific scoring run.

The striker - nominated for the Ballon d'Or this week - has scored 15 goals in his last ten games for club and country, including the winning goals in England's back-to-back 1-0 World Cup qualifying victories over Slovenia and Lithuania last week.

Kane was joined on England duty by club team-mate Harry Winks, who will hope the experience of his first international call-up can help boost his chances of more regular action for his club.

And defender Jan Vertonghen returns to club duty having become the most-capped Belgium player of all time when he made his 97th appearance in the 4-0 defeat of Cyprus.

Mousa Dembele, Vertonghen's team-mate for club and country, said: "If you look at him when he arrived at Spurs he was doing well but if you compare it to now, obviously he's played a lot of games in the Premier League and this translates to playing in the national team as well.

"It's an unbelievable achievement. If you see all the times he's played for Belgium, I can't remember him having a bad game."

Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe believed his side deserved more than a point from the scoreless draw with Leicester City last time out.

The Cherries paid the price for their failure to make more of a number of chances and the sight of Callum Wilson scoring twice for the club's under-21 side this week will have been welcomed by Howe.

Wilson is recovering from a long-term knee injury and while he is still some way off a first-team return, the striker is confident his recovery is going to plan.

"It's always good to score as it builds confidence and since the injury it's good to get back on the scoresheet," he said.

"I was never in doubt over my abilities and I feel I'm striking the ball probably better than I was before to be honest.

"Two goals, both different goals today, and now I'm looking forward to scoring these goals in the first team.

"I'm feeling fine, the knee feels strong and I feel ready to go now. I'm going to carry on working hard in training and waiting for my chance."

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
How much would you be prepared to pay for a ticket to watch the Springboks play against the All Blacks at Ellis Park or Cape Town Stadium this year?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
R0 - R200
33% - 1817 votes
R200 - R500
32% - 1777 votes
R500 - R800
19% - 1083 votes
R800 - R1500
8% - 460 votes
R1500 - R2500
3% - 187 votes
I'd pay anything! It's the Boks v All Blacks!
5% - 254 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE