The Argentine is going to extraordinary lengths to ensure his players are mentally prepared for the Champions League final

Mauricio Pochettino has put his Tottenham players through a series of death-defying challenges to get them emotionally prepared for the Champions League final against Liverpool.

Players and staff have walked over burning hot coals and snapped sharp arrows with their throats, as the spiritual Spurs boss attempts to strengthen their minds.

GETTY 6 Pochettino has a habit of putting his players through their mental paces

Tottenham finished 26 points behind Liverpool in the Premier League and lost to the Reds twice earlier this season – but Pochettino wants his players to believe anything is possible ahead of the showdown in Madrid.

He flew motivation guru Xesco Espar in from Spain last week – and put the players’ mentality to the ultimate test with a string of terrifying tasks.

“All of them were unbelievably involved. They enjoyed it a lot,” Pochettino said.

“They were all very brave. And the staff who did it too.

“Your mind is powerful and only you set your limits.

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“If you are going to run, of course you need big legs, muscle and everything but if your mind says, ‘No. I cannot run, you’re going to be tired.’ Then you cannot move. And that is why, before everything, your mind must be ready and focused and your emotions need to be in a good place.

“So our strategy from day one after the Everton game at the end of the league season was to make the priority this area. And then all the areas around it.

“We designed our strategy. Of the activities that we proposed with the players was to walk across hot coals but before that, during two or three hours, we were preparing, doing team bonding.”

GETTY 6 Tottenham training has been a little different ahead of the Champions League final

The challenge with the arrows sounds genuinely life-threatening.

An instructor holds the arrow, placing the tip just below the player’s Adam’s apple, before they walk towards it, forcing the stem to snap.

Pochettino said: “When you see the arrows, you think it’s impossible.

“Breaking the arrow against my throat? You say ‘No, come on, I am going to kill myself’.

“Then you put them here, with the sharp tip against your throat and then bang, you break the arrow.

Pochettino explains that his spiritual belief system stretches back to his childhood – and it’s shaped his methods as a manager.

YouTube | Southampton FC 6

YouTube | Southampton FC 6 The Argentine walks across hot coals during his time at Southampton

When he arrived at Southampton back in 2013, he put the Saints stars through the same feet-hopping and throat-popping challenges.

He said: “All my life I’ve felt it.

“When I was a kid, one night, I said: ‘Tomorrow I want to score three goals.’

“And I was thinking that 15 minutes before I went to sleep. Then, the day after, I scored three goals.

“It’s a small thing. But the biggest dreams are the same. It’s difficult to explain but I’ve always felt that that energy was with me. I don’t know who taught me about it.

GETTY 6 The Wanda Metropolitano awaits Tottenham and Liverpool

“It’s just inside me. It’s not a thing that I got from my dad or my mum or my brothers or some friends. It was with me, inside, in my mind, in my heart and it’s grown with me.

“And of course when I started to grow up, I started to think, I said: ‘What is going on?’ It was natural, no? But it’s a thing that worked always for me.

“I think it’s helped my career a lot, my belief, my faith, to have these principles with me.”

Getty 6 Tottenham can lift the famous trophy for the first time in their history

Neither Tottenham nor Liverpool have played a competitive game since the final day of the Premier League season, three weeks ago, and there are concerns over match fitness.

But Pochettino suggests the team with the greater mental strength could be victorious on the biggest night in Spurs’ history.

“The most important thing is to learn how you can prepare your mind, to be focused, to be proactive. This is the key in football.”

Listen to talkSPORT for commentary of the Champions League final live from Madrid.