Mauricio Pochettino may well have inadvertently put his finger on where things have gone wrong at Tottenham - by discussing what the club got right during his time there.
The Argentine oversaw Tottenham's best spell in a generation or two during his five and a half years in charge from 2014 to 2019.
Spurs finished in the top five in each of Pochettino's seasons in charge, including coming second once and third twice - as well as reaching the 2019 Champions League final.
Mauricio Pochettino: 'Tottenham had talented players, but no real balance'
Pochettino had taken the step up from Southampton soon after the end of the 2013/14 season, largely thanks to the greater opportunity for success he and his staff saw at Spurs.
He told FourFourTwo: "[Spurs] was a club that offered a chance to compete for bigger objectives. It meant stepping up another level. When [Daniel] Levy’s call came, we didn’t have many doubts."
Although his spell at Spurs ended without a trophy, Pochettino had the side competing at a level they would now be desperate to reach again.
The now-United States manager believes chairman Daniel Levy was a key part of that, saying: "Levy is a genius when it comes to man management, business and negotiation – someone we learned a great deal from.
"Over 25 years, you only have to look at where he found Spurs and where he took them. It became a model club, with an incredible stadium and facilities.
"He didn’t get the reward in terms of trophies, but Levy’s legacy is admired all over the world for his management ability and long-term vision. You can have good ideas, but he made them happen.
"The main thing was having the backing of the club and Daniel Levy, who believed in a sporting rebuild that also included the manager.
"When we arrived, there was an excess of players – many of them talented, but there was no real balance. It was hard to build a competitive team. Reconstructing with a medium-term vision was fundamental.
"Pep Guardiola was given that opportunity, Jurgen Klopp had it, and so did we. There are many very good coaches, but you have to be at the right club, with the right people supporting you to develop what you want to achieve.
"It’s a complex puzzle, because in football there’s always the temptation for people to interfere in areas that aren’t their responsibility. At Tottenham, we were allowed to work."
