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Cape Town - Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino believes Spurs have made an excellent start to their season, especially considering their off-field distractions.
The north London outfit have had to endure a delay in the completion of their new stadium and didn't spend anything in the transfer market as they aim to balance the books after building the new ground.
Pochettino's charges are fifth in the Premier League standings, after beating Cardiff City 1-0 on Saturday, and only trail leaders Manchester City by two points.
Nonetheless, some have suggested that Spurs need to start winning trophies to show they are progressing as a club, but Pochettino insists that is not the case.
"It's a strange feeling," said the Argentine tactician. "I think people always expect that when you have a good season and expect the next season to be better, and the season after better and better. But I think the problem is that we have improved a lot in the last year.
"To take us to the next step, we have to finish the training ground and the stadium. And people talk too much about Tottenham, [saying] 'Tottenham must win titles to improve', but that's not true.
"We need to finish our stadium, training ground and provide the team and the fans to feel home and happy and then invest in the team and work hard. That's not an excuse.
"We take our decision to think about football and the club, too, while our contenders only think about football and try and improve the team only to win. And that's a massive difference between us and the rest of the contenders.
"We can win a title but it's not compulsory to win a title, that's the difference. [It is] compulsory to the team that has spent a lot of money but it's not the case for us.
"With our circumstances, I think we need to party!"
