King backs Pochettino to stay at Tottenham ´for a long time´

Former Tottenham captain Ledley King expects Mauricio Pochettino to snub interest from elsewhere and forge a long career as manager at White Hart Lane.

Pochettino has drawn significant praise for his work in building a Spurs side which has mounted a serious Premier League title challenge while producing some of the most entertaining football in England’s top flight.

The former Argentina international has seen his name linked with Manchester United and Real Madrid, highlighting his rise to prominence, but King is confident he will stay in London in order to build on his success so far.

He told Omnisport: “I hope he stays. We’ve lost our top players in the past which is always difficult to come back from. But I believe we have a manager who’ll be around for a long time to develop this group of players. He’s started something he wants to see out and hopefully the players feel the same way.

“The objective at the start of the season would have been to try to finish in the Champions League spots. But the team has exceeded that. It’s a great position to be in.

“You can see they enjoy playing together, they have a young, hungry manager. He’s had a huge impact – you can see how comfortable the players are playing with each other. He deserves a lot of credit.

“The team has a good age, but a lot of maturity, which belies some of the age group. For someone like Dele [Alli] to perform the way he is is unbelievable. The future is really bright. Hopefully we see Tottenham competing for titles for years to come.”

Spurs closed the gap to leaders Leicester City to five points with a comprehensive 4-0 win over Stoke City on Monday, a result which has all but guaranteed their place in the Champions League group stages next season.

King expects a place in Europe’s top tournament to attract further talent to the club as they look to establish a run of success which goes beyond 2016.

“It would be massive to win the title but not just for this season – you want to carry this on into the next, and the season after that,” he said. “This is a talented group of players that I believe will be competing in future years, which is really exciting for the club.

“I think they’ll do very well, it’s a confident group and there’s a consistency in their play. The teams I was part of lacked consistency, especially away from home. That’s what’s needed in Europe against top teams. 

“We had some great individual players in my time but this is a stronger team. Playing in the Champions League, and a team that’s on the up, will hopefully attract players. But I don’t think too much needs changing.”

***Ledley King was speaking to promote the International Champions Cup Australia, presented by Audi***