Mauricio Pochettino admits he would love to return to the world of Premier League management.

Pochettino would be a desired target for any club in the Premier League because of his work at Tottenham, but for now the approach from the man himself is that of the - almost entirely, but not quite - straight bat.

"To be honest, I would love to work in the Premier League," he said. "It's going to be difficult, I know, and for now it's a moment to wait and we'll see what happens.

"It's a moment of recovery, to think about yourself a little bit, and to be ready because in football always something can happen and you need to be ready.

"I'm ready and waiting for a new challenge. I have the belief and confidence that the next challenge will be fantastic."

For more than five years, that belief embedded itself in a winning culture at Tottenham. There will always be a feeling of regret that such a positive philosophy was never manifest in silverware, but Pochettino was the guiding hand during a period of great transition in north London, and his role in that remains a source of huge pride.

"Of course I feel very proud about everything I achieved at Tottenham and when I analyse my time there, plenty of positive things happened," says Pochettino. "I took charge at a pivotal moment for the club.

"Everything I had to do was very scary in those moments. To destroy White Hart Lane and to build a new stadium, to play at Wembley and Milton Keynes, only football people know how difficult it was to deal with these situations.

"To apply a new philosophy and new ideas was very tough but I feel very proud with the success that we had and to take Tottenham to a different level.

"To play in the Champions League for three or four years and finish above Arsenal many times was a great legacy for us. To win a title would be a great reward but for us that is the legacy, to have the club and the stadium at Tottenham. That is more than winning titles."