Mauricio Pochettino has urged his Tottenham players to believe they can be the world’s best.
Harry Kane picked up seven nominations at Monday’s FIFA Best awards, as Cristiano Ronaldo carried off the trophy.
Pochettino and Kane attended the awards and the Spurs boss is confident his players can get closer to Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, who dominate such individual ceremonies, in future.
Pochettino said: “Why not – and it is not only Harry [Kane]. Maybe Hugo Lloris or different players. It is important to believe they can achieve that level.
“It was fantastic to meet a lot of football people and we enjoyed it a lot. It motivates you and we hope next season that we have a few players nominated. It was a massive motivation for us to be there yesterday. Hopefully it can help us achieve big things and be there one day. I am always optimistic about our prospects.”
Pochettino is likely to rest key players for Wednesday’s Carabao Cup clash with West Ham at Wembley but will not allow his players to slacken their place.
Tottenham are well-placed in the Champions League after collecting seven points from their opening three matches and they are five points adrift of Premier League leaders Manchester City.
Pochettino added: “It is important to keep momentum. If we rotate, we have to show that everyone can help and be a very important part of the team.”
