Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino has essentially demanded more respect from rival Chelsea boss Antonio Conte amid talk of expectations.
Spurs have yet to sign a single player this summer while Chelsea have spent around £130m on new signings to bolster their squad ahead of the new campaign.
Aside from specifically discussing Harry Kane, a player who Conte rates very highly, the Italian tactician also spoke about expectations and how they’re not as high at Tottenham compared to Chelsea.
Pochettino didn’t like that one bit, as the usually cool Argentine tactician has opted to respond on this occasion as he revealed he wasn’t impressed with Conte’s words, on Kane or the club as a whole.
“It made me laugh when he talked about Harry Kane because I don’t know why other people are so focused on my players and our club,” he said, as quoted by The Mirror.
“It’s true for different clubs when they spend a lot of money the expectation and pressure is massive but it’s the same for us because it’s our own pressure and our own ambition.
“It doesn’t mean because so far we haven’t invested money or signed players that our ambitions is not the same as clubs that have signed a lot of players and spent a lot of money.
“I respect every single philosophy and for me the most important thing is to show more respect. I like to show respect to people that behave another way only I expect the same from people that compete with us.”
In truth, it’s unlikely that Conte will respond to this as he isn’t one to unnecessarily get into a war of words with a fellow tactician on something that isn’t crucial to him, but there is certainly a point made in Pochettino’s retort.
As well as losing Kyle Walker, the lack of signings must be a concern and source of real frustration for many supporters, but Pochettino is seemingly ready to keep his faith in the current group and rely on continuity.