Football
Dan Kilpatrick, Tottenham Correspondent 7y

Changing Tottenham's culture of losing could be impossible - Pochettino

GENT, Belgium -- Mauricio Pochettino says the hardest part of his job as Tottenham manager is changing the mentality of the whole club and he admitted he may not be able to do it.

Tottenham's 2-0 defeat at Liverpool on Saturday left them without an away win against their top-six rivals this season -- with two draws and three defeats -- and 10 points behind league leaders Chelsea.

After that game, Pochettino admitted that Spurs, who are without a Premier League champion in their squad, lack the "winning mentality" of Chelsea and the other big clubs in the top-flight.

Last season, Tottenham drew at Liverpool, Arsenal, Leicester and Chelsea and won at Manchester City, and Pochettino defended his record in the big away games but admitted he is fighting to change the culture at the club.

"I hear that it's not so good, our record away from home against the top five. But that is wrong. Because if you look at history, and compare it with the last six seasons, you can maybe see that the last two years we've improved a lot competing against the top five or six in the Premier League," the Spurs manager told a news conference in Belgium ahead of Tottenham's Europa League round-of-32 first leg against KAA Gent on Thursday.

"You cannot change that mentality, that problem, in one-and-a-half years. That is a process to change. Maybe I will have time to improve that and change it. Maybe not. That is football. It's about winning.

"That is the hardest job to change. It's not about tactics or philosophy. It's about one aspect that you need time for. You need time to build that winning mentality. It's not only about the 25 players and the staff. It's the whole club.

"That makes it the hardest job. It's not hard for me to choose the tactics or team, whether we play three or the back or not. That's easy."

Spurs now face three consecutive cup matches, with an FA Cup fifth-round game at Fulham sandwiched between the two-legged Europa League tie against Gent.

Pochettino prioritised the league last season, but Spurs have not won the league title since 1961 and they are without a trophy since the 2008 League Cup. The 44-year-old believes winning a trophy can help his team to gain the winning mentality he is trying to install.

"I think, always, if you win a trophy it can help you a lot. But it's true, if you win, you must be clever and learn. Historically, it's important now [to win a trophy]. We started from one-and-a-half years ago to build a new team, a new mentality and philosophy.

"You always need time. But if you win trophies, because we are clever, we need to use that in a positive way to try and improve our winning mentality."

Spurs are without Jan Vertonghen (ankle), Danny Rose (knee) and Erik Lamela (hip) in Belgium, but Pochettino expects the Belgian to be fit for Sunday's game at Craven Cottage, and said his first team is eager to make amends for the defeat at Liverpool.

"What happened against Liverpool, all the players want the chance to play again and try and change the feeling. But we'll see. Maybe we will make some changes, but not too many," he said.

Spurs captain Hugo Lloris said: "It's our responsibility to create a great dynamic for this club. It's a good opportunity for every player in this squad to create history for this club, but for that you need to put in a lot of effort, be committed with the team and your club, and show your abilities and skills all together.

"We can't win with one or two players. It's about the team, all together."

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