Mauricio Pochettino Will Hold Talks With Southampton Amid Tottenham Interest

Mauricio Pochettino insists he remains focused on the job at hand at Southampton but will hold talks with the club at the end of the season after being linked with Tottenham Hotspur.

Tim Sherwood is expected to be replaced this summer with failure to earn qualification for next season's Champions League looking increasingly likely with just five games of the season remaining.

Holland boss Louis van Gaal has reportedly been given permission to hold talks with Tottenham ahead of a possible managerial appointment but Pochettino remains firmly in the frame having excelled since arriving on the south coast.

When asked of rumours linking him with the job at White Hart Lane, the Saints manager said: "In football I am very much accustomed to living with these rumours.

"I have been living with and hearing these rumours all my life, firstly as a player and then as a manager. I am just calm. I am not reacting to these rumours.

"I am fully focused on the job ahead. My job ahead is these last five games of the season with Southampton to try and get as many points as we can.

"Tottenham still have a manager, I still have one more year on my contract. I don't talk about rumours and I'm focused on this job.

"I said back in January that, at the end of the season, I will be speaking to the club. The possibilities are open."

Following the dismissal of Nigel Adkins in January 2013, Pochetinno's appointment was initially met with trepidation. But the former Argentina international has since carved a reputation as one of the league most promising young coaches having shaped Southampton into a formidable Premier League presence.

His impressive work on the south coast has not gone unnoticed. While his name is reportedly on Tottenham's shortlist, Monaco and Marseille are also said to be admirers. However, the 42-year-old coach feels at home in the Premier League.

"I would like to be in the Premier League, it is the best league in the world and I'd like to be here as long as I can."