Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has admitted that competing financially with the Premier League's traditional top five is very difficult.

With the promotion of talented young players from the youth team as well as some astute signings in recent years, Spurs have managed to assemble a quality side that is more than capable of challenging for the Premier League title.

However, Tottenham do seem to be struggling slightly this season and manager Pochettino has stated that Spurs' inability to challenge the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United and Arsenal on equal financial footing is a big obstacle to his side's title aspirations.

Pochettino said: "When you compare us with Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United and Arsenal, at the moment it is very difficult to compete with them.

"The challenge is to be clever and to take risks and, as we know, when you take risks in football, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. The market is always difficult in January, the most important thing is to improve our level of performance.

"Our results and numbers are in line with the same stage last season, but we need to be more aggressive, to play more like a team and show more intensity.

"Maybe the feeling is that we are not playing as we did last season, but the challenge is more than just signing players in January."