‘Pyjamas with no shoes!' - Mauricio Pochettino's peculiar first Tottenham meeting with Daniel Levy

Pochettino and Levy in 2017
Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty I
Tom Doyle30 April 2019

Mauricio Pochettino has lifted the lid on an unusual first meeting with Daniel Levy, during which the Tottenham chairman laid out his plans for rebuilding the club... in his pyjamas.

Tottenham have been through some seismic changes since Pochettino was appointed as coach back in 2014, with Tottenham developing both on and off the pitch.

Pochettino has overseen an upturn in fortunes, with three Premier League top-four finishes bringing regular Champions League football to the club.

Tottenham have also been busy building - literally - off the pitch, with the club completing their Hotspur Way training ground as well as finally moving into their new 62,062-seat stadium.

While Spurs fans have faced a long wait to move into their new home, supporters will be treated to a Champions League semi-final against Ajax on Tuesday night after Pochettino's side surpassed all expectations in the competition.

In Pictures | Tottenham's opening match at new stadium | 03/04/2019

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Spurs also look odds-on for another year in the Champions League as they sit third in the table with two games to go, meaning that the club can begin to make plans for the summer transfer window - which will be something of a novelty to Pochettino after two consecutive windows without making a single signing.

Pochettino's initial brief was to get the team competing for a spot in the top four while the new stadium was being built. Speaking about his first meeting with Levy to discuss the club's plans, the Argentine has revealed that the most memorable part was the chairman's odd choice of clothes.

"My first meeting was in his house and he was without shoes, like in his pyjamas but it was in the afternoon," Pochettino said.

"We were talking about my feeling about the squad of Tottenham. They showed me that in the squad were more than 30, I think 34 or 35 players.

"I said, 'Oh, it's an NFL team'. How are you going to handle that? That was my first meeting with him.

"We talked a lot about my ideas, our ideas and how we can share the ideas and the principle objective was to help the club finish the training ground and build the stadium - but being competitive.

"That was the most important thing, the ambition was to try to be close to win. Because to have a project that is only to finish the stadium and facilities, is not inside me.

"I love to play for the glory.

"It was an ambitious project, in different ways to our opponents, to develop a project to be sure we are going to be financially safe to help the club achieve what we achieve after five years and be competitive."

In Pictures | Tottenham's opening match at new stadium | 03/04/2019

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Additional reporting by the Press Association.

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