LONDON -- Mauricio Pochettino has rejected Antonio Conte's suggestion that Tottenham had "an advantage" over new champions Chelsea in the title race, claiming the Blues' triumph came on the back of a summer of spending.
Chelsea secured a second Premier League title in three seasons with a 1-0 win at West Brom on Friday, and last week Conte offered context to their imminent success, claiming second-placed Spurs are "more advanced" because Pochettino is in his third season at the club.
The Chelsea manager, who moved to Stamford Bridge in the summer, also suggested that the two London clubs had spent similarly in the transfer market, and said Spurs would have easily won the league had it not been for the effort of his players.
But Pochettino pointedly listed Chelsea's four summer signings, who cost around £120 million, and said Arsenal would be the champions if the manager's longevity was that important.
"I understand him. It's difficult for him because he was always a manager who liked to work with and to develop young talent," sniped Pochettino, speaking before Chelsea's win at the Hawthorns.
"It's difficult when you sign for a club like Chelsea and you have the pressure to win and you spend the money that they spent on David Luiz, Marcos Alonso, [Michy] Batshuayi and [N'Golo] Kante. I totally understand but I don't know if I agree with him that it's an advantage.
"Then [Arsenal manager] Arsene Wenger should win the league every season because he is 20 years in charge, if that is the right way to measure our advantage. I think it's not fair to measure with me, as it is to measure with Wenger. Twenty years is a massive advantage. Why not win every season? It's not a criticism [of Wenger]. It was not the best comment from him [Conte]."
In February 2015, when Conte was in charge of Italy, he visited Pochettino at Hotspur Way and the Spurs manager added: "But because I respect him and I love him because I shared five hours with him here, I opened my door, I understand what he wanted to say. Maybe it was a struggle at the beginning but I think now he is happy."
Pochettino has previously fired shots at Chelsea, saying last month that buying trophies was an "artificial" route to success and claiming Spurs are unique in their "genuine, very natural" approach, despite their own summer outlay of nearly £70m.
He reiterated that it was easy to win titles by spending big and said the spirit he had fostered at Tottenham was an altogether harder thing to achieve.
"The easy thing is to arrive at some club and ask for players and ask the owner for big money. That is the easy way. The difficult way is to try to develop talent and try to create a team and build a winning mentality, not only in the players but at the whole club. That is a very difficult job," Pochettino said.
"Today we all realise at the club that we can build something special in a different way that other clubs are building. That makes it special and an exciting project for us.
"Yesterday, we were walking around the training ground -- [coaches] John McDermott, Jesus Perez, Toni Jimenez and Miguel D'Agostino and the chairman. We enjoyed it a lot for an hour looking at the new facilities, the project, how the training ground is. And we only enjoyed it because it is special. If not, it is difficult.
"Football is more than spending money or bringing in big players. Tottenham is creating a very special environment that is not the final product, still -- because there are many things to improve -- but I think we are in a very good way. It will only take patience to achieve the things we want to achieve."
Pochettino also admitted he would struggle to hold back the tears in Tottenham's last-ever game at White Hart Lane, their home since 1899, against Manchester United on Sunday but said the emotion would be countered by the excitement of the move to a brand new stadium in 15 months' time.
"I am very sensitive person and so emotional, so it will be difficult not to cry," he said. "I think for the fans it means a lot but in the same way -- and I don't want to be wrong -- I think our fans are so excited to welcome the new stadium too.
"That doesn't mean they are happy it is the end of White Hart Lane, but that they are excited towards the progress. They are excited to the future of the club. Be sure it will be very very emotional but at the same time it will be very, very exciting to welcome the new stadium."