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‘I know THIS about Tottenham players… this is what they are thinking’ - Sherwood EXCLUSIVE
TIM SHERWOOD says money is not what drives the Tottenham players - and he knows that first-hand.
The former Spurs boss managed the likes of Harry Kane, Christian Eriksen and Danny Rose in his five-month tenure at White Hart Lane.
Although the club have kicked on from then, Spurs’ inability to offer wage packages akin to their Big Six rivals has been well documented.
According to most recent figures, Spurs have the sixth-highest wage budget in the league, but are over £80million short of fifth-placed Arsenal.
But Sherwood, who won the Premier League as Blackburn captain in 1994/95, says money is not the main motivation in this Spurs squad.
“Players want to earn money, but it’s not about that for a lot of those boys, who I know first-hand,” he exclusively told Express Sport.
“They want success. People don’t ask me how much money I’ve got - they ask what it was like to win the Premier League.”
Mauricio Pochettino replaced Sherwood as Spurs boss in 2014 and has transformed the club’s expectations.
The Argentine has led Spurs to top-three finishes the last three seasons, something not achieved by the club since the early 1960s.
People don’t ask me how much money I’ve got - they ask what it was like to win the Premier League
“Now it’s almost a given in a lot of people’s eyes [that Tottenham will qualify for the Champions League],” Sherwood said.
“And it’s not a given. It’s very difficult to do that. Especially with the other teams getting stronger and stronger.
“[Pochettino] seems to have cemented their spot in the Champions League, and their next step is to challenge. They can win the Premier League - Mauricio believes that as well.
“They’ve got some of the best players in the world at Tottenham - they’ve got a great spirit, fantastic manager. The next step will be to win a trophy.”
Pochettino brushed off claims last season that he needs to win a trophy to make his time in north London a success, discarding the value of the Carabao Cup.
But Sherwood disagrees: “Everyone knows how difficult it is to win the Champions League, which would be the hardest [trophy to win]. The Premier League is similarly tough.
“After that, I would like them just to go for anything - that will help them keep players at the club, to start winning trophies.”
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