• Tottenham manager says fall of pound has been obstacle • ‘Building new training ground was massive investment’

Mauricio Pochettino “feels sorry for the English people” as the effects of Brexit, including on the cost of Tottenham’s new stadium, begin to bite.

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Spurs begin their Premier League campaign at Newcastle on Saturday after becoming the first Premier League club not to buy a single player in the summer transfer window since it was introduced in 2003.

Pochettino believes the price of delivering the new White Hart Lane, which has increased owing to the fall in value of the pound, is one of the factors that have stopped him adding to his squad.

“What the club is doing is so brave,” Pochettino said of the club’s current investments. “Building a new training ground was a massive investment. Building a stadium that is nearly £1bn. And then with Brexit it is worse because the cost is 30% more. That is a drama too. I feel sorry for the English people.”

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Pochettino believes his team will be stronger this season despite failing to add numbers, because Spurs also managed to retain their key players, signing several – including Harry Kane – to new contracts. “We have the Golden Boot in Harry, who is so disappointed because he says to me he should have scored more goals [at the World Cup]. But it’s good. It’s good that they feel that we are all together, the same team as last season and we can all fight for big things.

“We can show to everyone that we have a very good squad and very good team and the players can still improve.”