To thrive at Wembley

of their championship-winning side of 1951, but there is a limited number of cosmetic things the club can do to make Wembley feel more like home. Flags will be distributed to fans in an effort to whip up the atmosphere, but the biggest shift for Spurs will be in having to make sure they achieve the results to gain momentum, especially having had such outstanding home form last season, winning 21 and undefeated in 23 matches in all competitions.

Much has been made of the Wembley pitch being bigger than the one at the Lane by an extra 400 square metres. Wembley is marked out at 105m by 69m – the Lane was 100m by 67m – but that is the same as 15 of the 20 Premier League pitches and is the standard size unless a club’s stadium is too small to allow it, as is the case with Everton, Chelsea, Liverpool, Crystal Palace and Huddersfield. And Spurs only won at Palace last season.

Pochettino argued the recent win at Wembley when Spurs beat Juventus 2-0 was a better indicator. “I think when we played Juventus it was a little bit like ‘we are going to play at Wembley and it is a massive test for us’,” he said. “Against the runners-up in the Champions League and after the game we knew we could do well, play well.”

That was a friendly, however, and now they face former Juventus coach Antonio Conte who, said Pochettino, had sought him out at the recent Premier League launch to attempt to clarify his comments when he appeared to question Spurs “expectations”. “If they don’t win the title, it’s not a tragedy,” Conte had said, implying there was less pressure.

Pochettino said Conte argued that headlines about his comments had been misleading and added: “What he said did not upset me, it is only that he wanted to be sure that I had got the right message. For me, it is not a big issue.”

A big issue for Spurs, though, is recruitment and Pochettino wants four new players before the transfer window closes. The first will be Ajax defender Davinson Sanchez at £42 million – £28 million plus £14million in add-ons. The deal for the 21-year-old Colombian is subject to a medical and work permit.