Mauricio Pochettino says he is “confident” Tottenham will move into their new stadium before Christmas, after he held talks with Daniel Levy.

As he prepares to play a “home” Carabao Cup tie against Watford in Milton Keynes, the Tottenham manager believes the end is finally in sight for the £850m project after the planned opening this month was postponed over safety fears. Pochettino says victory in the third-round match would be a show of gratitude to frustrated Spurs fans who have now gone 500 days without a game in their own ground.

“I am confident,” Pochettino said of the opening of the new White Hart Lane. “This year. I am confident. I had some private conversation with Daniel [the chairman]. I think they are confident. They are working hard to try to find the solution. I hope before Christmas we can play. That’s my wish.”

Pochettino says discussions with Levy are a daily occurrence, but the subject of the stadium, for which the chairman has endured criticism, is not always an easy topic to broach. “Sometimes he tells me, sometimes I open the conversation and say: ‘Daniel, how is the stadium?’ and sometimes it’s tough to explain. But, yes, we hope, and we heard before [that this is possible], I am very confident before the year. I hope after that comment Daniel doesn’t kill me tomorrow.”

The match on Wednesday, against a Watford side who have already beaten Spurs this season, was rehoused at Stadium MK after Spurs’ temporary home of Wembley Stadium was unable to accommodate the fixture because of the title fight between Anthony Joshua and Alexander Povetkin last weekend. Watford were believed to have been disappointed with the decision to play at Stadium MK and have not taken up their full ticket allocation. With Spurs fans also seemingly reluctant to make the round trip, predictions suggest the 30,000-capacity stadium could be only half full.

“Of course we feel sorry for the fans who are going to move one hour and a half maybe to Milton Keynes,” Pochettino said. “But that is a circumstance we need to adapt to. If we want to have one of the best stadiums in the world our fans need to understand that this situation happened and we cannot change the reality.

“We are going to try to win. And of course the fans are the most important in football. They consume football. We have the salary we have because football is the most watched sport in the world. That is thanks to the fans. The fans are doing a massive effort. It’s fantastic when 2,000 or 3,000 go to Milan. We are so grateful. Of course we are going to try to give the victory for the fans.”

As for Watford’s concerns, however, Pochettino was more brusque. “I don’t care if they are happy or not happy,” he said. “What can we do if we cannot play at Wembley or at our new stadium? Maybe the Watford fans are not happy but I think the people at Watford understand we had to find another venue to play. The draw was Tottenham v Watford.”

Pochettino offered a last thought on the new White Hart Lane, saying when it finally opens his team will no longer have an excuse for not winning trophies. “First of all we need to finish the stadium and build the trophy cabinet,” the 46-year-old said. “And when all is ready and settled is the moment to say ‘we can win now’.

“At [that] moment it will show we are a big team, with big facilities and a venue that is one of the best. There will not be an excuse afterwards. It is no use having a massive house but being unable to put furniture inside. Or if I have a cow and no grass.”