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Friday 3 May 2019 14:21, UK
Mauricio Pochettino says Tottenham must "behave like a big club" and doesn't want his side to continue to be perceived as overachieving.
Spurs are on course for a fourth successive top-four Premier League finish and are in the semi-finals of the Champions League this season despite not making any signings in the last two transfer windows.
Pochettino has also had to deal with a number of injuries to key players throughout the campaign and although he says the completion of the club's new stadium represents the closing of a five-year chapter, he's unsure about the club's next step.
"I think we're going to have time to talk," he said. "Now we're so focused on trying to finish the season but if you ask me if we can repeat next season, I cannot guess.
"I said to you all that when we finish the season I think it's a moment to close a five-year chapter, to analyse, to talk a lot and to give the real value of that period. It was amazing.
"The problem is, what do we want for the next chapter of the club? Now we've finished the training ground, finished the stadium, what does the club want to achieve in the next one, two, three, four or five years and what are the fans going to expect from the club?
"There are many things to talk about and put on the table. We cannot live like we have lived in the last five years - on the perception side and on the reality side.
"We achieved a lot of things. We overachieved maybe. Because of our ambition, the way that we work and many things we can praise, we're here now in a very good position. But what next?
"We need to fight for big things, behave like a big club and do things properly."
Tottenham's last signing was Lucas Moura from Paris Saint-Germain in January 2018, and Pochettino hinted that his squad will need investment in the near future in order to get to the next level.
"I cannot guess (what will happen) because it's a club decision," he added.
"One question the other day in a press conference was 'the depth of the squad is not at the quality of the new stadium'.
"If we start next season talking about that, nothing good is going to happen in the future.
"The perception and the feeling are not going to be right. We need too much. The expectation, the reality - and then, of course, we need to give you (the media) the tools to provide our fans with the reality and find a good balance.
"We cannot tell to our fans negative things. We must always be positive, but sometimes if it's too positive, we create an expectation that's not the reality."
