As the Dirty Dancing song goes, “…I’ve never felt this way before. I swear, it’s the truth. And I owe it all to you…” Mauricio Pochettino. If you are like me, you’ve probably got a man-crush on this geezer.

For this first time, in my memory, I get the sense that this manager understands the club and the fans like no manager since the great Bill Nicholson.

I don’t for a minute believe he pays lip-service to the fans, letting us hear what we want to hear; he means it. When he said that the Newcastle game ruined his summer, it was music to my ears. When he said that he was proud of the fight the players showed against Chelsea, I felt it.

Yes, from the outside looking in that match may have descending into chaos, but to Spurs fans it was a coming-of-age. I don’t remember a Spurs team refusing to be intimidated and standing up for themselves like that team did. And this sea-change is down to Mauricio Pochettino.

One:

I have supported Spurs most of my life. When I was a kid, I supported the England team and didn’t really have a team (they were okay then). My family are from the East End and from North London. I had more of an affinity to Spurs in my early days, but I wouldn’t say I was a big fan.

I can remember getting into Spurs when Venables took over. I vaguely remember the mess the club was in at the time too. Since then, apart from the odd success, I have seen precious little silverware and many false dawns.

I suppose the law of averages meant Levy would get it right one day, but boy has he done so

I saw Gascoigne, Klinsmann and Bale play. But I have never believed we were on the brink of becoming genuine title-contenders. I have been a signed-up member of the Spursy brigade for many a year, and expected it all to go wrong at some point. Not now. I think that term needs be banished, sent to Room 101, along with any thoughts that we are mentally weak and just one sale away from mediocrity.

The most important person at this club is Mauricio Pochettino. I never imagined I’d say that when he was appointed. I wanted De Boer. How could we not appoint a proven manager who had won things?

Why were we going for someone who had won nothing and had a record of working with youth players?

A Levy cost-cutting exercise I mused. How wrong was I…and many others?

I have been a member of two high-profile Spurs forums for more than a decade. Most were having a meltdown at Pochettino’s appointment. I suppose the law of averages meant Levy would get it right one day, but boy has he done so. You have to kiss a few frogs before you find your prince, as the old saying goes.

Two:

At the start, I was concerned at the absence of Pochettino’s famous pressing style, but anything was better than that toxic Sherwood era. Patience is what was needed this time. I suppose it was blind faith, or perhaps hitting the lowest ebb as a fan after Sherwood’s reign and not really caring too much anymore. I hit the reset button. I almost felt like I had had enough of the club, the board and the players.

Pochettino came in promising to restore our pride; he sensed it too. He wanted to make us fall in love with the players and the club. The thing is, this wasn’t a man that wanted to hog the limelight. He just wanted to drive the club and change the culture, without declaring that he was some ‘special one’.

It is said that the club feels a very happy place now. This change in culture is down to the vision of one man

Everything about the club felt poisonous. The results weren’t great at the start and social media and some podcasts were already calling for Pochettino’s head. He was gone by Christmas, declared one paper. Many fans didn’t believe the stadium would get built – ‘no bricks will ever be laid,’ said some.

We all thought the players couldn’t give a toss, ‘look at their body language. Bin them all’. But methodically, Pochettino set about his changes: overhauling the playing staff; changing the management, scouting and technical structure; overseeing the academy; building trust and links with the fans.

He pushed the players to acknowledge the fans. He sent letters to fans that had been unwell. He had the common touch, making time for everyone from the cleaners to Daniel Levy. It is said that the club feels a very happy place now. This change in culture is down to the vision of one man: Mauricio Pochettino.

Three:

We are nowhere near the finished product. Pochettino is slowly evolving and refining the squad, whilst nurturing our youth. I was one of those fans that got angry when we didn’t sign a marquee player every summer. Now I am content that this manager knows best; all in the space of a couple of years. I don’t mind that the club policy is to bring through the youth and to buy players around £15m.

This manager knows the collective and team ethic is the key to success. He has chosen players that buy into this and if they don’t, they’re gone. No fuss, no spiteful public comments, they are just wished well and sent packing. I love this single-minded vision. It means that the manager can impose two or three training sessions, insist the players sleep at the newly built lodge and expect unflinching commitment to the ‘project’.

I was one of those fans that got angry when we didn’t sign a marquee player every summer. Now I am content that this manager knows best

Attitude often trumps talent. When the team were getting set upon and wound up by Chelsea towards the end of the season, you could see the camaraderie and commitment in the players’ protection of each other. Dier standing over Hazard and before that over Giroud sums the club up now. More than anyone, and I love each and every one of those players now, Dier epitomises the new Spurs: resilient, brave and talented.

Of course, I hope we win the league one day soon. We need to start winning some silverware, and Pochettino has said as much. But, regardless, this is the proudest I have felt about my team and the club in my lifetime…and it feels great. There are plenty of reasons to be cheerful; and this is just the start.