The Espanyol job, the Southampton transition and then now at Spurs, Pochettino continues to impress. Imagine if he had won the league last season!!! There wouldn't be a soul in sight across White Hart Lane who would not have accorded him cult status. He was close, very close till the ill-fated game at the Bridge(Chelsea). It truly would have been a remarkable achievement for a man was once considered too rigid in his ways and too stubborn to change. Marcelo Bielsa, the man who Mauricio idolizes, once told him he was s**t as a player when he was at Espanyol.  This was when a lot of the Spanish press had considered him to be one of the best centre-backs in La Liga. Pochettino initially realized that in wanting to be the star man, he had forgotten what got him there. He learnt from it and went on to greater things. The same principle he applies now on his team. No star men, no airs, just hard work.

In his first season as a coach with Espanyol, he managed to beat the mighty Barcelona at the Nou camp, 2-1. The blueprint of that win remains the same even now. High press, full backs more as wing backs and a solid centre-back security. Southampton finished 8th, their highest points tally, under him proving the system worked wonderfully well. He had the industry as well as the skill needed to sustain this philosophy and so far, it has yielded the results. “Where did I get the idea we had to (press)? It’s about your personality, who you are. You show on the pitch who you are. If you are brave in your life, you cannot behave in a different way on the pitch. I don’t understand how to play in a different way. Always, be brave. I like to be brave,”is how Pochettino describes his coaching philosophy. 

Moreover, youngsters are getting their due chance as well. Dele Alli, Harry Kane, and others will tell you that Pochettino has made them better. If Moussa Dembele has had a new lease of life, a major part of it has got to with the system and the belief that Mauricio has installed at the Lane. The same applies to a few more such as the likes of Dier and co. Now if you do not fit the system, you are out. Ask Nacer Chadli and others who were shunted out. What he does do, however, is give time for a player to show what he can do. Either the player cracks it or he is let go. 

"I only show my emotions at home, in my bed", the 44-year-old was quoted saying about his unusual calmness during games. Well, he may not show much but his team definitely are showing that steel and substance in equal measure and that comes right from training. He sets them up right and that is fairly reflective on the pitch. it does all show his belief in his team.