Mauricio Pochettino has joked Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy is “worried” about the reports linking him with other jobs.
The Argentinian has been linked repeatedly with the likes of Real Madrid and Manchester United and his stock has increased yet further after he guided Spurs into the knockout stages of the Champions League.
Pochettino, brought to north London by Levy in 2014, said, tongue in cheek, that Levy was “concerned” by the speculation, not that he felt the need to put his chairman’s mind at ease.
“He no laugh,” he said. “I don’t get bored (about reading them) but he maybe is worried, he is concerned.
“But it’s normal. It’s not nice for Daniel to hear all that history.
“It’s like in football, when appear the sporting director or the president and say, ‘No, no, no. The manager is going to be here. We trust in him.’ The next game, lose the game, out!
“If you reassure something it’s because you are thinking in different (ways). He’s a worry man! That is different. He suffers.”
The manager did, however, reveal that Levy was enduring sleepless nights in his drive to leave a lasting legacy at the club.
Levy is currently consumed by delivering Spurs’ new stadium – a project that has suffered escalating costs and many delays and problems along the way.
There could be good news on the horizon, though, as the club are expected to announce test events at the state-of-the-art arena early next month and Pochettino is convinced it will be like no other stadium.
Levy is not universally popular with the club’s supporters, but Pochettino, who admitted his boss was “not an easy man”, thinks he deserves credit.
“The chairman is suffering a lot,” Pochettino said. “He is so tired about work. The last few months he didn’t sleep because he is trying to deliver the stadium.
“He is trying to make everyone happy but it’s a massive project. I think people don’t realise the magnitude of the project and how difficult it is to manage everything.
“Everyone is disappointed because we are still not playing there, but the day we move everyone is going to realise how massive the project was and how good the facilities are.
“It doesn’t just depend on him. When you build something, you depend on many companies. I think it’s more than 20 that are working there. It’s so, so difficult.
“That is why I think he needs to feel the love from the fans and the club. He is working so hard, too hard, to leave a legacy forever. And I think that’s fantastic.
“When you compare the new stadium to other stadiums, we are going to be so lucky to play there.
“He is not an easy man. But he is so passionate to create some things for the fans and the staff and the players.
“He is always thinking to do things for other people. And of course, for the fans. That is a fantastic thing but the people sometimes struggle to understand.
“The team wins and the praise is for the players, the coaching staff or the manager. When lose, the first is him that the people blame – sometimes deserved! Sometimes, no.
“I think he deserves a fantastic recognition because what he’s doing, him and the board, is a fantastic thing for the club and it’s going to be there forever.”