Ange Postecoglou has 'great admiration' for Chelsea rival Mauricio Pochettino

Tottenham head coach Ange Postecoglou has plenty of admiration for Mauricio Pochettino’s appetite to take on a "big challenge" but has suggested he would never allow others to take complete control of recruitment.

Pochettino’s Chelsea visit Spurs on Monday with the west London club struggling for a second consecutive season despite an outlay of £1billion since Todd Boehly took over with his Clearlake Capital consortium last year.

While Pochettino has failed to hit the ground running and acknowledged at the end of September he would "need to be more involved now" with regard to the January transfer window, it is a different story for Postecoglou and his summer transfers.

"I haven’t come across him," Postecoglou said of the former Spurs manager.

"From afar, great admiration. I think the impact he had at Southampton and at Spurs is unquestionable.

"He has taken on some pretty big challenges post-Spurs as well, which I’m all for. I like managers who take on big challenges, so great admiration and respect for his work."

Paris Saint-Germain was Pochettino’s destination after his departure from Tottenham, but a plethora of signings under his watch were made by PSG sporting director Leonardo.

This summer Chelsea spent more than £350million during Pochettino’s first transfer window, although he has been left with a bloated squad of big-money additions which lack experience.

By contrast Tottenham’s Guglielmo Vicario, Micky van de Ven and James Maddison have quickly settled and Postecoglou said recruitment is a big factor for him, especially at the start of his tenure.

He added: "Wherever I’ve been, I’ve made sure that I have the biggest say over recruitment. I don’t do all the work, but I really think it’s an important part of my function