Tottenham are going to stand by manager Mauricio Pochettino

Some Tottenham fans want to see Mauricio Pochettino get the sack, but club officials are rightly going to stick by their Argentine manager. 

Tottenham fans hoping to see a new manager installed to replace Mauricio Pochettino are set to be disappointed. Club officials are not inclined to make any change at the top. Instead, they intend to trust Pochettino to lift his squad out of their current slump.

Instead, Pochettino is adamant about his intention to “face the negative things.” His quotes in the London Evening Standard  make it very obvious that he’s not concerned about being sacked in the slightest. The relationship between Pochettino and chairman Daniel Levy is quite close. The fact that Pochettino isn’t worried about his job makes it clear that the club are prepared to stick with him through this troubled time.

It’s the right move for a club that punched well above its weight to reach the Champions League final just a few short months ago. Tottenham clearly need to make some changes, but throwing out a world-class manager like Pochettino would be short-sighted at best. Now is the time for Spurs to repay their manager’s loyalty by showing him a healthy amount of patience.

In practical terms, that means the club need to prepare for some serious personnel changes in January. Very few members of Pochettino’s current starting XI should be considered safe. Harry Kane, Heung-Min Son and the new arrivals may be the only players in the squad who are untouchable at the moment. That doesn’t mean Tottenham are anxious to part with players like Moussa Sissoko or Harry Winks, it just means that a lot of stars could be available this winter for the right price.

In the shorter-term, expect for Pochettino to institute a youth movement when his team returns to action after International Break. That process could be greatly aided by the recovery of Ryan Sessegnon and Giovani Lo Celso to full health. Each player is just the sort of energetic spark that could help ignite a talented, but dormant Tottenham starting XI.

Don’t be surprised to see Davinson Sanchez and Juan Foyth get their opportunities too. Neither Toby Alderweireld or Jan Vertonghen has been able to adequately protect Spurs’ goal in recent games. It’s possible they’ve both started to enter a period of age-related decline. Pochettino will not hesitate to make a change at centre back if he thinks it can solidify his defence.

Barring a significant shift in philosophy, Pochettino is poised to continue his tenure at Spurs well into the future. Things can change quickly in the Premier League, but don’t look for Tottenham to cut their manager loose anytime soon.