LONDON -- Mauricio Pochettino has admitted that Tottenham's away record against the "big six" is the reason they have not won a Premier League title, but he reiterated that it's unfair to compare Spurs to their rivals.
Speaking ahead of Sunday's trip to Anfield, where Spurs have won just two of 25 Premier League visits, Pochettino blamed immaturity for his team's form at Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Man United but said the problem is not exclusive to them.
Spurs' 2-0 win over United on Wednesday was their 10th home win against the "big six" under Pochettino, but the Argentine has overseen just one win in 18 away games -- a 2-1 victory at City in February 2016 -- and they have lost at Arsenal, United and City this season.
"That is why maybe we've missed a title, why we don't win the Premier League," Pochettino said. "But if you combine home and away [form], I think the last two seasons-and-a-half, I think we are second [against the top six] ... We have won more games than all the others, except I think Liverpool.
"Maybe because we are [one of] the younger teams in the Premier League, maybe we need time to mature. There are many reasons why we cannot win most of the games that we play away from home."
Pochettino pointed out that of the 19 matches between the "big six" so far this term, there have been only four away wins, adding: "For everyone, it is a problem. I don't like these stats. We can talk and you can put like this or like that -- this is positive, that is negative.
"In the end, it is how you finish in the table. We finished second last season, third the season before, and of course if we win more games away from home, I'm sure that we would win the title but we miss something to achieve that."
Spurs can leapfrog Liverpool into fourth with a win on Sunday, but Pochettino was quick to reject any comparisons between the two clubs, saying they have "different players, different characteristics." And the Argentine reminded the media, not for the first time, that it is unfair to compare Spurs to any of their rivals, saying they are not in a position to compete financially with the rest of the "big six."
Pochettino pointed to Liverpool's world-record £75 million deal for Virgil van Dijk, City's signing of Aymeric Laporte for £56m, Arsenal's £57m capture of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexis Sanchez's reported £350,000-a-week wages at United.
He described his own January signing -- £25m Lucas Moura who was out-of-favour at Paris Saint-Germain -- as opportunistic.
"You only see the transfer fees. It is the salaries you need to see! We can afford to pay for Alexis [Sanchez] -- the transfer fee was zero!" Pochettino said.
"It's not fair to compare Tottenham to Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Man United and City. We are not similar but, in the last two seasons, we finished third and second and they were below us. It's not that we were better but it's not fair to compare.
"They sign players that they want. [Man City can say:] 'I want the centre-back from [Athletic] Bilbao, [Laporte], I go to buy the clause. I don't care about the money!'"
"Or Van Dijk or Aubameyang! I told you: We sign opportunities. I told you we're still not there. We're competing with them, of course. We play well, OK? But to compare outside the pitch, I think it's not fair.
"For Lucas, he needs to show that he is better than our players. If we sign [Lionel] Messi or Cristiano [Ronaldo], then OK. If not, then they need to compete. There are not too many players in this level who need to compete with Ronaldo. Lucas Moura must compete with [Erik] Lamela, with Sonny [Son Heung-Min], with [Christian] Eriksen."