Pochettino admits he needs to win a trophy to make this season a success

Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino admits he needs to win a trophy to make this season a success because finishing in the top four is no longer enough.

The Spurs boss claimed in January this year that winning silverware ‘only builds your ego’ and that securing regular Champions League football was the ‘most important thing’ for his side.

But ahead of Tottenham’s Premier League opener against Aston Villa on Saturday, Pochettino said his objective for this campaign is to end Spurs’ 11-year wait for a trophy.

‘A good season for us? My personal feeling is that starting my sixth season I need to lift a trophy - Carabao Cup, FA Cup, Premier League or Champions League,’ Pochettino said on Friday.

‘It’s like my dog - he’s growing up, he’s just not quite mature enough - (so) I don’t want to put pressure on the team or the club.

‘But if you ask me personally, this season is not about finishing in the top four to be successful - although of course maybe that matters for the club. But for me, it is about winning some title.’

Pochettino led Spurs to the final of the Champions League in June, where they were beaten by Liverpool. That defeat means the 2008 League Cup remains Tottenham’s last major honour and Pochettino admitted last year’s near-miss has given him a taste for more.

‘After last season’s final, to be again in the top four and reach the semi-final of the Carabao Cup, it is like, “Come on!”’ he said.

‘You are always there but you cannot touch the glory. That is personally - me. My personal target, objective, aim to be successful this season is to lift a trophy.’ Spurs begin their assault on all four fronts with a squad that now includes club-record signing Tanguy Ndombele, Giovani Lo Celso and Ryan Sessegnon.

Pochettino is ‘a happy man’ after Spurs’ summer business but the futures of players such as Christian Eriksen remain uncertain. Eriksen, Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen have only one year left on their current contracts, with the Dane believed to be keen on a move to Spain this summer.

Though the transfer deadline has passed in England, clubs in Europe can still sign players. Pochettino does not believe he is under pressure to sell but admits his side are ‘more vulnerable’ than others because of the number of players approaching the end of their deals.

‘When they decided to move the deadline and push it forward from the rest of Europe I was not for it because I knew it would create problems. It is not common sense,’ he said.

‘(English football) shot itself in our foot because we move early to close the transfer window, allowing the European clubs to talk with our players.’ The clash with Villa marks the start of Spurs’ first full season in their new stadium.

Pochettino admits that consistency - and their summer spending - will bring added pressure. But it’s something he welcomes.

‘In the last five years we didn’t invest too much money if you compare with our contenders. But now the perception is that we invest a lot of money,’ he said.

‘I am more than happy because the pressure is always welcome because we need the pressure to give our best. Before we created our pressure but now it is maybe better to feel that we are a top club investing money and is compulsory to win some trophies, no?’

He added: ‘Before the excuse was if we lose some games it was because we were at Wembley, now we don’t have any excuse to lose some games because we are settled now in our stadium. (But) that doesn’t mean that we have to win all the competitions.’