We chart the rise of Mauricio Pochettino and examine how he is transforming Tottenham ahead of their Super Sunday showdown with Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium... Sir Alex Ferguson never faced Mauricio Pochettinos Tottenham but it is safe to assume his team talk would have been rather different to the one Roy Keane made famous two years ago. It was Tottenham at home, recalled the former Manchester United captain. He came in and said: Lads, its Tottenham, and that was it. Brilliant.Keane was using that anecdote to highlight Fergusons knack for knowing exactly what his players needed to hear, but it said even more about Spurs. To their rivals, they were a soft touch; the Premier Leagues nearly team, where managers came and went but the formula stayed the same. Mauricio Pochettino praises his Tottenham side and credits the supporters after their 1-0 win over Watford at White Hart Lane Pochettino, though, is overseeing a transformation. The traditional flakiness has been replaced by what their head coach calls a winning mentality, and Spurs sit second in the Premier League having won seven of their last nine games, including Saturdays utterly dominant 1-0 victory over Watford. They are like animals, said an awe-struck Quique Sanchez Flores. They have everything a team needs to try to be champions.That includes the fearlessness with which they will approach Sundays clash with Manchester City. I think we are different people now, said Pochettino on Saturday. We live in the present, and the group of players, the staff, the club, the president and the supporters believe we are strong and we can win every game. This is important.This Spurs side is built in Pochettinos image. The former Argentina international was a tough, tactically astute centre-back in his playing days. He often references the influence of Marcelo Bielsa as a youngster at Newells Old Boys in his homeland, and he went on to spend most of his playing career at Espanyol, where he had two spells either side of a stint in France with Paris Saint-Germain and Bordeaux. Mauricio Pochettino took points off Pep Guardiolas Barcelona on three separate occasions during his time at Espanyol As a player at Espanyol, Pochettino was a leader, a captain and just generally somebody who people listened to when he talked, Spanish football expert Guillem Balague tells Sky Sports. He was a big-name international and when he returned as the coach in 2009, it was the return of the prodigal son in a way.Espanyol was Pochettinos first job in management and he inherited a side that looked doomed to relegation from La Liga, but within a month he had overseen their first away win against arch-rivals Barcelona in 27 years, and they ended the season in 10th place after an extraordinary run of eight wins from their last 10 games.For the next three seasons Pochettino kept Espanyol competitive despite the club being in what Balague describes as financial disarray. Key players were repeatedly sold but Pochettino put his faith in youngsters from their academy and the bold approach paid off. No coach took more points from Pep Guardiolas Barcelona, says Balague. With what he had, it was a fantastic achievement. Pochettinos managerial methods have received hefty praise Espanyol played with the high-intensity style that would become a hallmark of his Southampton and Spurs sides. It was possession football, with building from the back, says Balague. He gave the players the confidence to do exactly that and he made us [the fans] enjoy it. The results werent always great but for three seasons they were good enough and we were enjoying the football.Pochettinos side began to slide in the 2012/13 season and he left by mutual consent with them bottom of the table that November. It was a sad way to depart and showed he still had much to learn, but Southamptons former executive chairman Nicola Cortese had seen enough to controversially sack Nigel Adkins and appoint the young coach at St Marys just a couple of months later.The decision provoked widespread outcry, but the doubts didnt linger for long. Southampton successfully avoided relegation in 2012/13, and Pochettino was able to put his stamp on the team as they secured an eighth-placed finish in 2013/14 - just two years on from their promotion from the Championship. All the players bought into his philosophy and he got respect from every player at the football club. Matt Le Tissier I think his biggest asset was probably the team spirit that he got going at Southampton, Saints legend Matt Le Tissier told Sky Sports. All the players bought into his philosophy and he got respect from every player at the football club.Tales of Pochettinos gruelling training techniques began circulating in the summer of 2013. The Argentine subjected his players to three sessions per day during pre-season, and he even made them walk barefoot across hot coals. At times you want to kill him, simply because he makes you suffer like a dog, said Pablo Osvaldo, who worked with Pochettino at Espanyol and Southampton. But, in the end, you get the right results. Pochettinos demands were a culture shock, but Southamptons players were smitten by the 43-year-old and the club reaped the rewards. Hes world-class, not just as a manager, but as a person, said Adam Lallana. The way he man-manages his players. He makes you feel good about yourself.That year, Pochettinos men were the fittest and fastest side in the division, forcing opponents into mistakes with feverish pressing all over the pitch. Premier league tracking data showed Southampton ranked first for distance covered and high-intensity sprints, and it is no coincidence that Spurs have overtaken Saints in both departments since his move to White Hart Lane. Pochettinos Premier League running stats Season Club Distance covered rank Sprints rank 2013/14 Southampton 1st 1st 2014/15 Tottenham 2nd 3rd 2015/16 Tottenham 2nd 2nd Pochettino works on his players confidence as well as their fitness. He planted it into our heads that even if we were up against bigger teams and bigger players, we could compete at the same level as them, said Nathaniel Clyne. Personally, it took my game to another level.Clyne is not the only one to have felt the benefits. We do have to work hard in training and I do suffer but its an enjoyable kind of suffering because Im benefitting so much, said Danny Rose a few months after Pochettino arrived at Spurs. Im far more tactically aware and more consistent.Pochettino has a ruthless side, too. At Espanyol he stripped his former team-mate Raul Tamudo of the captaincy despite the strikers legendary status at the club, and he has shown a willingness to wield the axe at Spurs. Emmanuel Adebayor was completely frozen out after refusing to fall in line, and Andros Townsends days were numbered from the moment he publically rowed with fitness coach Nathan Gardiner in November. Andros Townsend was banished to Tottenhams U21s by Pochettino after a show of ill-discipline After Espanyol and Southampton, Pochettinos youth policy has been even more successful at Spurs. The philosophy is embodied by teenager Dele Alli, who has been a revelation this season, and Spurs dynamic and hungry squad does not contain a single outfield player over the age of 30. Pochettino is quite happy to give young players a chance ahead of big-name players, as long as theyre good enough, says former striker Terry Gibson, who came through the youth ranks at Spurs in the late 1970s and early 1980s. I think he enjoys working with the young players because they take on board his ideas and theyre fit enough to carry them out.His treatment of Roberto Soldado and Harry Kane was the perfect example, adds Gibson. The club paid a hell of a lot of money for Soldado but he was quite happy to let them fight it out and for Kane to be the first choice. It has worked perfectly. Now theyre thriving and they look a really good side. Harry Kane has proven to be an important part of Mauricio Pochettinos squad Spurs have always had a reputation as a cup team but hes changing it now and we Spurs fans are really enjoying it. Were still pessimistic about winning the league or winning anything, but thats the nature of being a Spurs fan when we havent won the league for so long. I think there is a genuine belief now that Tottenham can go close.If Pochettino feels his players need any extra motivation when they travel to the Etihad Stadium, he could do a lot worse than remind them just how far they have come since Fergusons famous team talk. Watch Manchester City v Tottenham live on Sky Sports 1 HD from 3.30pm on Sunday Also See: Spurs have winning mentality Pochettino coy on title talk Premier League weekend grades Who has the best keeper? Cheap Air Jordan 3 Sale . The catch: It needs a lot of money, and it needs it fast. 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Ottawa Senators general manager Pierre Dorion was so pleased to get Mike Hoffman under contract that he hugged another member of the clubs management team.The Senators and Hoffman, Ottawas leading scorer last season, avoided going to arbitration by agreeing to a four-year contract worth nearly $21 million.This is a great day for the organization, Dorion said on a conference call Wednesday shortly after the announcement of the deal, which carries a $5.19 million annual cap hit. I shouldnt tell you this, but I actually hugged [director of hockey operations] Randy Lee today.Obviously, we see Mike as a huge piece of our team going forward.Hoffman, 26, led the Senators in goals for the second straight season, hitting a career high with 29 goals. He also set career highs with 30 assists, 59 points and a team-leading nine power-play goals.A Kitchener, Ontario, native, Hoffman was particularly pleased to avoid arbitration for a second straight summer. He was awarded a one-year, $2 million deal through the process last summer, his third consecutive one-year contract. His new deal doesnt expire until the end of the 2019-20 season.His arbitration hearing was scheduled for Aug. 4.Ottawa was most intrigued to see what impact new head coach Guy Boucher could have on Hoffman, who starred for Boucher in junior with the Drummondville Voltigeurs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, scoring 98 goals over two seasons while capturing the league championship in 2009.The thing thats exciting about Mike Hoffman is, hes going to play for a coach that, without divulging too many secrets, that simply adores him, Dorion said.Dorion was particularly excited by how Boucher, formerly the Tampa Bay Lightning head coach, planned to use Hoffman on the power play.Hoffman seemed to clash at times with Dave Camerron, the former Senators coach who was fired at the end of last season.dddddddddddd Cameron benched Hoffman for the entire third period of an early March win over Toronto before dropping him to the fourth line.Hoffman had 46 even-strength points, second to captain Erik Karlsson among Senators. His 56 goals over the past two seasons rank 19th among all NHL players.Obviously, I had to prove myself again, Hoffman said. I didnt want to just be a one-hit wonder kind of guy, and last season I think I kind of showed what I can do in this league.Hoffman could have become an unrestricted free agent next summer, but the Senators opted to buy three years of unrestricted status. The new deal carries a limited no-trade clause, with a list of 10 teams, that takes effect in the 2017-18 season.Dorion said a new deal wasnt close last month at the draft, but the sides made progress on term and dollars last week. Dorion was discouraged again Monday, though, before meeting with Hoffmans agent, Rob Hooper, on Tuesday.The sides came to an agreement a day later.Cody Ceci, a 22-year-old defenseman, is the only Senator still unsigned. He is a restricted free agent, one whom Dorion said will be in the lineup when Ottawa opens the regular season.I can assure you that Cody will be playing for us on October 12, he said.Asked about the prospect of 40 goals for Hoffman, a former fifth-round pick, Dorion responded, I hope, but I definitely see more than 29.I see an improvement. I definitely see someone whos going to step forward, take a bigger role on our team, not just score goals, but help us win games. I see someone whos been a good player in the NHL, but who can grow even further. ' ' '