Poch can cut City gap says Clive
TOTTENHAM are primed to slash the gap between themselves and Premier League champions Manchester City.
That is the view of ex-Spurs hitman Clive Allen following a busy start to the summer at White Hart Lane with new deals for manager Mauricio Pochettino and striker Harry Kane.
The move to tie down Pochettino was perfectly timed – coming days before Zinedine Zidane quit as Real Madrid coach.
And the Argentine’s pledge of loyalty – despite the huge lure of the Spanish giants – has convinced Allen his old club can scale even greater heights next term.
In the last three seasons Spurs have finished third, second and third.
They were 27 points behind Pep Guardioloa’s record-breaking winners in 2017-18.
But as long as chairman Daniel Levy backs Pochettino in the transfer market, Allen is backing the north Londoners to be a lot closer come next May.
The ex-England striker, who scored 60 goals in 105 league games for Tottenham in the 1980s, said: “Daniel was very clever getting Poch to sign long-term when he did.
“Protecting the interests of the club was clearly uppermost in his thoughts.
“And I can’t believe Mauricio would have committed to that length of deal without first agreeing some transfer targets for the summer.
“If the club trust him that much, they will have discussed and identified the players he wants.
“We’ve just had another very positive season with a fantastic Champions League campaign.
“We will close the gap at the top even more next season.”
With Kane also penning a six-year contract and the delayed date for the new Lane’s completion now confirmed, the optimism in N17 is understandable.
Allen, 57, added: “These are exciting times with the new stadium coming on line and with an emerging side still growing.
“The next step has to be to win a trophy because that’s the hurdle so many Spurs teams have been unable to get over.”