Glenn Hoddle believes Tottenham are a bigger club than Chelsea.
Hoddle, who played for and managed both London clubs, thinks Spurs have a larger fanbase, a bigger stadium and superior training facilities than their fierce rivals.
And he also believes Jose Mourinho will now only be realising how much of of a big club Tottenham are, insisting he may not have taken the job if it was offered to him a couple years ago.
In his foreword to the book ‘The Boss — Memories of Bill Nicholson’, published this week, Hoddle said: “First of all we should all applaud the wonderful work of Mauricio Pochettino.
“If it wasn’t for the way he turned around Spurs then someone like Mourinho wouldn’t have given them a second glance.
“In fact, up until a couple of years ago, it would have been unimaginable to think of Mourinho at Spurs.
“So it’s a measure of how well Pochettino has built the team up that the club can attract a manager of Mourinho’s calibre and world standing.
“But it’s not only Pochettino. It’s the fact the club also now have a world-class training centre and a world-class stadium — all the ingredients to make Spurs an attractive proposition for Mourinho.
“The issue with Pochettino was a very simple one. Could he get the team over the line and win silverware?
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“He came pretty close with the Champions League but without any silverware to show for so long in the job, you can see why Daniel Levy thought of bringing in Mourinho, a serial winner.
Hoddle continued to suggest that chairman Daniel levy was right to move for Mourinho due to the fans’ burning desire for trophies.
“It might only be in the short term as Mourinho has moved on every two or three years but even so it is what the Spurs fans crave — trophies”, he added.
“Every Spurs fan, every Spurs player has been waiting to win something and you can sense their patience was running out.
“As indeed it probably ran out for Daniel Levy, who must have been sick and tired of everyone banging on about the lack of silverware.
“The club needs a trophy to move it to the next level. Yes, it was a shock to see Pochettino go after all he did for the club but, if he wants to stay in football, there looks like plenty of openings for him.
“In a way it wasn’t a surprise that Daniel Levy was looking to someone like Mourinho.
“Hopefully he will achieve what the fans have been dreaming of. He has done it everywhere he has gone, so there will be optimism.
“Why not at Tottenham? With the training ground, the stadium and the players at the manager’s disposal, it is all there.
“If Mourinho does win silverware at Tottenham it will prove to have been the right move at the right time for him to go to Spurs.”
Perhaps most controversially, however, was Hoddle’s suggestion that the north London club were actually bigger than Chelsea, despite the former boasting a Champions League title to their name.
He continued: “It will also turn out to be a shrewd move for Mourinho, who will quickly discover that Spurs are a massive club — much bigger than he might have thought.
“He has probably underestimated just how big a club Spurs are.
“There is a bigger fanbase than at Chelsea and no one now has better facilities in terms of training ground and stadium. He has walked into a fantastic job at the right time with Spurs becoming a modern-day club. This is a good marriage.”