Mauricio Pochettino could not disguise his smirk as he contemplated how one of the features of the new stadium growing next to White Hart Lane, the “Tunnel Club”, will give a select band of supporters a prime view of the action as the players come on and off the pitch. “Dangerous ...” the Tottenham manager said, eyes sparkling. “A lot of things will happen there. It will be very expensive.”
Indeed it will, as the Tunnel Club will provide one of the elite premium experiences the club has unveiled, with one-way glass panels lining the tunnel. The players will not in return be able to gaze at the lucky 104 supporters enjoying their fine dining in this area, but knowing Pochettino the onus will be on making sure they will be focused enough on their job in hand.
The most expensive seats in the exclusive “H Club” will cost an even prettier penny. A £15,000 joining fee – and any client must buy a pair of tickets – will put any takers back £30,000 before watching even a minute of football. It includes the kind of attention to detail that offers a cheese room for clients to select their own specially sourced half-time cheeses.
It is all a far cry from the old days of elbowing your way to a standing perch on the Shelf, but is part of the new world of deluxe Premier League football, where the provision for lavish hospitality is intended to subsidise the cost for general admission. The standout highlight is the 17,000-seat single-tier home end, an attempt to recreate the kind of impact Borussia Dortmund make with their Yellow Wall.
Pochettino sounds excited by the challenge of navigating Tottenham through this period of change. From historic White Hart Lane, via a season renting at Wembley, and then back to the N17 future. The games spent at Wembley are, he feels, important as a bridge between the old and new, a way to help Spurs acclimatise to what it will feel like to call a new-build home. “We need to make Wembley our home and then to move here again will be a similar stadium to Wembley. We need to adapt ourselves to compete in a bigger stadium so it is natural to us.” As London neighbours West Ham have shown, and Arsenal before them, that aspect is not easy.
While the buzz of expanding sightlines is never far away, the focus on trying to succeed now is felt keenly. Spurs travel to the Etihad Stadium this weekend seeking to extend a seven-match winning sequence. Confidence is high. “We are ambitious and we want to win every game,” Pochettino says. “If we look backwards to my first season here, now we are 1,000 miles ahead. In football it’s about belief. We are in a very good period. The hard work is to keep that feeling.”
Pochettino is unmoved by the vibes that spring from City losing 4-0 last weekend while Tottenham won by the same margin, as if that is a barometer or reference point for the weekend tussle. “They are three points behind us. Be careful. There is a lot of competition ahead. We need to be calm.”
Spurs are without Jan Vertonghen but the overall news is more positive than first feared on his injury. “He is OK, he is very positive,” Pochettino said. “We are pushing him a lot. We expect six weeks – less than at first.” Kevin Wimmer and Ben Davies are contesting to pick up his position in Tottenham’s rearguard. The manager sees no need to dip into the transfer market to cover the situation and insists he has the squad to manage without a major hitch. There was a less encouraging update on Érik Lamela, whose hip injury has not improved over the spell spent rehabilitating in Italy. The Argentinian has another scan on Friday. “We start to be concerned about him,” Pochettino muses.
Naturally, given the goals in front of them, he wants all hands to the pump. Tottenham head to Manchester in second spot in the table, looking for a win to take them six points ahead of Pep Guardiola’s erratic Manchester City.