Pochettino is in danger of giving fans high expectations next season

Paul Scholes is developing at a TV pundit from his first performances where he talked to the viewer but was watching the game. Now he has learnt to look at the camera and his thoughts are coming across far better, they are sought in the press as well.

Pochettino is in danger of giving fans high expectations next season


Spurs are a team on the up and thus are in the news, former England international Scholes in his column in the Independent wrote he believes Pochettino is one of the best young coach around and his view agrees with my recent article in which I suggested Ryan Mason should be in the next England senior squad.

"What I like about Pochettino is the way that he looks in control. He is in control of his players, in control of the way that they play. He is confident without being arrogant. 
"Mason has caught my eye a lot this season. He can tackle, he is tactically disciplined and he kicks the ball cleanly with either foot. He gets about the pitch too. I see no reason why Mason should not be in the next senior England squad."

Pochettino has been well reported to be well liked by the players and well liked by young players at his previous clubs. He endears himself with some of his goal celebrations which seem to have developed as he has developed into the role. Alan Hansen famously said you win nothing with kids, yet Pochettino is attempting to turn that on it's head, he has given youth their head and the youth have responded.

They seem to play for him, believing in the hard work ethic and when you have a young group sprinkled with experience who bond the way Hugo Lloris has bonded then they feel anything is possible.

We have to remember for the moment Pochettino has a thin squad of players to choose from, the players he wants that's is. He has plenty he can pick that he doesn't want so maintaining a top four challenge which most supporters felt was beyond him in his first year is quite an achievement, especially given some senior players didn't get behind his methods.

We have a Cup Final nobody expected, improved our form against the major sides and are still in Europe, as expected yes but with greater hope than when we started the campaign, then we didn't have a hope in Europe, now we do. I'm not expecting any great improvement from now until the end of the season, I see improvement happening again when the club have managed to turn around a few players in the summer.

Change is a continual process, as is improvement, we are not going to solve every problem in one window, as many fans seem to expect. Each new player creates different problems, Benjamin Stambouli has taken time to come up to speed with English football for instance, only now is he starting to become someone you can rely on to produce a reasonable standard in the Premier League.

Everyone went over the top with his cameo at Sunderland earlier in the season and he has looked vulnerable on many occasions since then. If however he keeps developing then next season we'll have a better player who improves the squad and who hasn't cost the earth. Fazio took a while to settle, Lamela, it's a common theme it seems, especially with the Pochettino system. Players have to get fitter to play it and then learn positional play at set times as one cog not working messes up the whole team. Everyone must know what their role is at various points throughout the game and act together..

It all takes time to get to that point and then an adjustment period as a player puts it into practice in a game situation but things are looking good for the future. Fans are in grave danger of having high expectations again next season, but Pochettino is showing all the signs of being able to handle the pressure with his seemingly unflappable air.