I don’t need a to deal with Daniel Levy

POCHETTINO SAYS HE FINDS IT EASY TO NEGOTIATE WITH HIS SPURS BOSS WHO IS RENOWNED AS A TOUGH BUSINESSMAN

MAURICIO POCHETTINO claims he is the one man who can negotiate with Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy.

Of course, he may change his mind if he tries to wriggle out of his four-and-a-half-year contract this summer.

But the relationship at the heart of the Spurs success story is a key reason why Pochettino could reject Manchester United’s advances, if they come calling at the end of the season.

The unexpected harmony the Argentine seems to have with his chairman could be enough to convince him that nowhere is the grass greener than at the club’s new stadium.

Sir Alex Ferguson famously said in 2015 that dealing with Levy had been more painful than his hip replacement, but Pochettino joked he was the one manager the

Spurs chairman actually seemed to get on with.

“For me, it’s the opposite,” he said. “If there was one person who was easy to do business with, it was Daniel. Historically, other managers were the opponent of Daniel. They always fight with Daniel. It’s only me maybe that has a good relationship with him!

“Negotiations were more difficult for him than me – I am the manager and he cannot upset me.

“If we are talking about extending a contract or giving me more money, you need to be careful. With agents, you can talk very openly and say anything you want and the agent will manage the situation.

“But when you are talking directly to your manager, one word can change the negotiation or change your mind. “For him, that was new and it was tough every time he needed to talk to me.” Ed Woodward be warned, then... although everything about Pochettino’s press conference yesterday suggested the United chief executive should be trying to do business with him this summer.

Relaxed, genial, open and smiling – the 46-year-old was the exact opposite of the bitterest days of the Jose Mourinho era. Take the poisonous cloud that was allowed to surround Paul Pogba, for instance. Pochettino showed a very different approach towards keeping a star player happy.

He sidestepped speculation about Christian Eriksen’s reluctance to commit his future to the club by instead recalling a dinner he, his wife and his assistant Jesus Perez all had with the Denmark star (below) in Copenhagen last summer – very much the personal touch.

“Christian is a very clever person and, of course, there’s going to be a decision from him and from the club, and I hope he can be committed to us long-term,” Pochettino said.

“But he is a very special person and you need to give him freedom, like on the pitch. You cannot put him in a box. You need to trust him. Like my dog, in the park. I trust my dog. I say, ‘Go, I trust you’.”

He insisted on following this up by showing assembled reporters a picture of his Rhodesian Ridgeback, Sansa, on his phone.

“And when I say whole family, Sansa is part of that,” the Spurs boss said.

With the same enthusiasm, Pochettino then recalled another recent meal – this time with a managerial legend.

“Sir Alex Ferguson was always one of the people I admired the most – an inspiration,” he added.

“I was so lucky to share with him a very nice lunch in London. After that, we keep a very good relationship.

“It’s nothing to hide because we are football people and I admire people like him.”