Real Madrid will put Tottenham's mental strength to the ultimate test as Mauricio Pochettino targets taking next step

Real Madrid are struggling in La Liga while Spurs have lost their last two

Pochettino wants Spurs to take the next step by becoming mentally stronger (Getty)

The most telling answer from Mauricio Pochettino came right at the very end of a press conference that, in its ability to drag on interminably despite very little of consequence taking place, occasionally seeped into the realm of experimental theatre.

As long, directionless questions about Real Madrid and Zinedine Zidane swirled through the air ahead of Tottenham’s Champions League fixture at Wembley on Wednesday night, each of them requiring a word-for-word translation from Spanish to English and then back again, at times even Pochettino himself, normally so vivacious and ebullient, seemed on the verge of a sort of personal existential crisis. Zidane, whose own press conferences occasionally offer the sensation of death without the ruinous funeral bills, would doubtless have approved.

Still, good things come from those who wait. And on the eve of could be a bellwether game for his young side, Pochettino outlined exactly what Tottenham need to catapult themselves to the very top tier of the European game.

“The last step that we need,” he said, “is to be stronger mentally. It’s not about running more, doing more sessions, tactics or playing in a different way. The last step for us as a group, and a club, is mental.”

A manager often lauded for his tactical nous and physical conditioning demands, Pochettino talks about mentality far more than either.

Since taking over as manager from Tim Sherwood in 2014, he has made it his personal business to transform the popular caricature of Tottenham as a club with high ideals but a soft underbelly, with a proud history but without the stone-cold entitlement that you need to stamp your authority on the modern game. The psyche of champions. The certainty that they belong.

He's almost there, but not quite. Successive defeats to West Ham at Wembley in the Carabao Cup and Manchester United at Old Trafford are a reminder of the two millstones still hanging around this side: no trophies, and a poor record in big away games. Then again, after the near-miss of 2016, everyone assumed Tottenham would regress back to the mean. That they would struggle to keep their best players. That they would fall away towards the end of the season. That they would struggle to adapt to Wembley. Little by little, Pochettino has helped Tottenham conquer their collective neuroses.

A fortnight ago, in the Bernabeu, came the latest leap forward. Tottenham played beyond themselves in claiming a 1-1 draw against the defending European champions. Beating them in the return fixture at Wembley would not only put them on the verge of the Champions League knockout stages. It would be Madrid’s first pool phase defeat in over five years. It would be a result to make Europe sit up and take notice. And for Pochettino’s Tottenham, it would be another leap into the unknown.

As Pochettino explained: “When you are playing against the best team in the world, if you are not brave, it is so difficult. And yes, we are going to be brave. Our mentality is right, we are going to try to play without fear, and dominate the game. We must remember that, because if you have fear, it is difficult to show your real quality.”

Real are vulnerable. Defeat at the weekend to Girona has left them eight points behind Barcelona in the La Liga title race. Cristiano Ronaldo is still struggling for his best form, Gareth Bale is still injured, and Zidane’s immaculate management style of doing at nothing is, well, doing nothing at all.

Pochettino is aware of the peak, but aware too that it can be scaled. “When I praise Real Madrid,” he said, “it’s because I feel they’re the best team in the world. But at the same time, I have the belief that we can win. I have faith in my players, in the way we can play, and the way we can beat them.”


 Dele Alli returns after his three-game European ban (Getty)

In one important respect, Tottenham will be a different proposition to the one that so impressively drew in Madrid. Dele Alli will make his return to the Champions League after a three-game ban, and despite an indifferent start to the season Pochettino warned that he was close to his best.

“Always for a player that’s not involved from the beginning in a very exciting competition, you feel a little bit down,” he said. “You sometimes stay here at the training ground alone, training, and it’s not easy for everyone. Maybe he was affected a little bit by that. The last three games that he’s played, we’re happy with his performances. His level is increasing. Maybe he’s disappointed that he’s not at his best, but it’s coming, like winter is coming.”

Judging by his contre-temps with Ashley Young at Old Trafford on Saturday, the fire is back in the belly. According to reports, the comment that initially ignited the scuffle was when Alli told Young to “retire with a Zimmer frame”, while Young is said to have retorted: “Let me know when you win the Prem”. Call that one a score draw. But whereas the Alli of last season might have reacted more physically, here he simply stood his ground and simpered. And there were certainly no complaints from his manager.

“He’s a character and a winner,” Pochettino said. “And sometimes he will show his character and personality on the pitch, like he did against Manchester United. I think he is calm. When someone tries to wind him up, it’s normal. But I think his behaviour was good.

“He is so young, still so young, 21 [years old]. Sometimes we expect too much, and the expectation levels on him are massive, because he has shown already he is capable of creating and doing something special. For me, he is a special player, but has the capability to improve and get better. With time, every day getting better and improving, not repeating his mistakes, then for sure, he can become one of the best players in the world.”

Read those words back, and they might just as easily apply to Tottenham. A week is a long time in football, three years an eternity. But this Tottenham side is still so young, with so much room still for improvement. With a little time, a little patience and a little learning, what more can they achieve? Ninety minutes at a packed Wembley against the European champions might offer us some clues.