Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has admitted that the upcoming campaign could prove to be his "toughest season" in charge of the club.
Spurs did not bring in a single player during the recent transfer window and must also contend with uncertainty over the delay to moving into their new stadium, which has forced the team to play at least three league games - and their Champions League group games - at Wembley.
The opening weeks of the season are likely to be further disrupted considering Spurs had more players in the closing stages of the World Cup than any other club, but Pochettino insists that his side are up for the fight and are determined not to make excuses during the upcoming campaign.
"For everything, for me it will be the toughest season and I think if we want success we have to give more than our best. It's not enough 100%, it's 200%. We know from inside that it will be hard, the season, and because we are warriors we want to fight. We want to be proud at the end, we want success and we do not want to complain or make excuses," he told reporters.
"I am a winner and I love the challenge, so that is why I feel full energy. We want to go again. When you are in a difficult situation, this is the moment when you need to show that you are there. It is easy when everything is good to be there, but when the winter is coming it's easy to run away. I want to be there in the frontline fighting and trying to with all the circumstances that, today, are in the club.
"I feel the responsibility to be there and that is why I am here. First of all, I think we are going to be successful. There is no point in blaming the club, the board or Daniel [Levy]. He is doing with the board an amazing effort to create the legacy that will endure for a generation and forever.
"You cannot blame a person that does not sleep because he is thinking about how to deliver the best job for the club. It's a business of course. But sometimes the fans need to think. It is easy for those responsible such as Daniel to think, 'OK, rather than investing in a massive training ground, new stadium, let's put the money into players. Happy?' Then in 20 years, I am going to be remembered for winning the Premier League. In the end, there would still be 35,000 in a stadium."
Tottenham began their campaign with a 2-1 victory over Newcastle United and will look to make it two wins from two when they host Fulham at Wembley on Saturday.
Barney Corkhill
