Tottenham need to back Mauricio and stand behind embattled manager

With the dust settling on a miserable week for Tottenham Hotspur, opinion on whether Mauricio Pochettino has a future at the club is divided. 

The embattled Pochettino will be the first to admit this week was his worst since joining the club five years ago. It’s the first time Tottenham has been embroiled in crisis, shrouded by adversity with him at the helm.

Football managers, like most bosses in modern professional sports, have a short life expectancy with any one club. Contrary to that trend, Pochettino has enjoyed a long, fruitful tenure in charge of Tottenham, fulfilling his goal of making them contenders again. Of course he hasn’t yet lifted a trophy with the Lilywhites, but has come oh so close on a few occasions, most notably in June’s Champions League Final.

Lack of a trophy aside, Pochettino has created a golden generation at Spurs, impressively leading the club to a the apex of European football without bolstering a comparatively skeleton crew. His tactics were lauded, his personnel selections celebrated. Something good resulted from every decision Pochettino made. He couldn’t step a foot wrong.

That was until the start of this season.

The gaffer has been criticized for his team selection, his stubbornness over leaving Jan Vertonghen out of the lineup, his insistence on a diamond midfield, his inconsistency employing the high press that was so successful in recent seasons. Every decision is now placed under a microscope, dissected if anything goes awry. Such is the territory of a big name manager in world football.

We can’t forget how far we’ve come since Pochettino took charge. Thanks to Pochettino, Spurs are in the conversation as one of the Premier League juggernauts, a side expected to challenge for the title or contend for cup glory. That, in large part, is thanks to Pochettino.

So what would it say about supporters if we desert our manager in his time of need? Something is obviously broken at Spurs, but Pochettino has earned our loyalty, trust and unremitting faith. He’s earned the right to make things right.

It’s something entirely different if he walks away from Spurs under his own volition. But under no circumstances should he be forced out. It’s still Pochettino’s team, and it’s up to him to rectify the underlining issues plaguing his beleaguered squad. The best managers in the world are resourceful, able to prove naysayers wrong in times of hard strife.

It’s up to Pochettino and his staff to heal what ails Tottenham Hotspur. If he can’t, be certain that he’ll have the wherewithal to know when it’s time to fall on the sword and close the door on his chapter in north London.