How Mauricio Pochettino has his Tottenham charges daring to dream of Premier League title glory

When Mauricio Pochettino first set foot in White Hart Lane, the future Tottenham manager was struck by the simple message emblazoned all around the middle tier of the stadium.

‘To Dare is to Do’, translated from the latin ‘Audere Est Facere’, has been Tottenham’s motto since long before Pochettino arrived in north London, but it serves as the perfect summary of the team’s mission statement under the highly driven Argentine.

Although Pochettino left the Lane that afternoon in March 2014 frustrated after his Southampton side slumped to a 3-2 defeat, the young manager’s first encounter with the slogan which resonated so much would foreshadow greater things to come.

Just two months after that, Pochettino was announced as Tottenham’s new manager and only two years later he already has his club positioned to end their long wait to be crowned English champions.

Tottenham’s dashing 2-1 win at title rivals Manchester City on Sunday moved them within two points of Premier League leaders Leicester with 12 games remaining, prompting Pochettino to admit fans were right to start dreaming of a first top-flight title since 1961.

To come within touching distance of emulating the heroics of Bill Nicholson’s team, who boasted Tottenham greats Danny Blanchflower, Dave Mackay, Cliff Jones and Bobby Smith, Pochettino has infused a club for so long derided as serial underachievers with a genuine belief they can beat anyone and the results have been remarkable.

At the start of the season, few outside the Tottenham dressing room expected more than a challenge for a top four place from a club whose last major trophy was the 2008 League Cup.

But those doubters missed the quiet revolution masterminded by the softly-spoken Pochettino at Tottenham’s new training headquarters in the north London suburb of Enfield.