Tottenham Coach Mauricio Pochettino has an unfamiliar problem this January – how do you go about strengthening your side in the transfer window when everyone you field from your current squad looks like they could hold down a place in most Premier League sides? Does it mean no reinforcements are required, or would complacency in this potentially vital period be looked back upon as a turning point and missed opportunity?

There are two positions Spurs could be looking to strengthen. First is in the striking positions – as the theory goes, talismanic front man Harry Kane could get injured, and leave their Champions League challenge in tatters. But although Kane has netted 13 goals this season, the stats would suggest that Pochettino’s side are not overly reliant on the England man.

The rest of the side have contributed an impressive 27 goals, with Dele Alli netting six, Eriksen four, Dier, Lamela and Dembele with three, and Heung-Min Son, brought in to adapt up front if needed, has two in six Premier League starts.

With that in the mind, does bringing in a £20m striker, let’s say Saido Berahino, really make sense? Especially when you risk upsetting what is a seemingly happy and balanced dressing room. It’s a delicate decision.

The second position to consider is central defence. Jan Vertonghen hobbled off against Crystal Palace at the weekend with medial ligament issues, that will leave the Belgian out for a few weeks. In his place will come Kevin Wimmer, the 23-year-old Austrian signed for 7m Euros in the Summer from Koln.

Wimmer has only played 15 minutes of Premier League football this season, but has looked solid in two recent FA Cup tests with league-leaders Leicester City. Assuming Vertonghen does not have a longterm issue, Wimmer could comfortably cover in this position.

And a second injury in defence – could that see the excellent defensive record fall apart? Not necessarily. We won’t be facetious and suggest Federico Fazio will come in and sure everything up, but one option available to Pochettino, which he did  against Leicester in the FA Cup, is to move in-form Eric Dier back into his favoured central defence position, with Alli or Dembele taking his more defensive midfield role. Suddenly a defensive injury crisis doesn’t necessarily look so dangerous to the top four hopes at White Hart Lane.

And so it could be the case this transfer window that Pochettino absolutely means it when he says what every manager says “We’re not actively look for reinforcements”.  He has all the tools at his disposal to see through the top four challenge, and he could do with as few distractions in terms of new players as possible. It may well be one of the best transfer window decisions this January.

Tottenham have had an impressive recent run of form since their opening day Premier League defeat to Manchester United, currently enjoying an eight game unbeaten record, with top half sides including Everton, Manchester City, and Liverpool, among those to have failed to take three points away from Spurs. A win this weekend away to Bournemouth could take them into the top four.

However there is a noticeable difference in the first half form for Spurs, and that of their second halves. Pochettino’s sides are renowned for their fitness, and indeed the aim is to run more, and importantly, run for longer, than their opponents. It is therefore no surprise to see Spurs in the top five for second half form in the Premier League, behind only Manchester Utd, Manchester City, Arsenal, and rather more surprisingly in top position, West Ham.

Four winning second halves, four drawn second halves, and only one defeat. Seven goals scored, only three conceded in nine games. It’s the kind of form that keeps Tottenham’s Champions League qualification dreams alive.

But if Spurs have real ambitions to break into the top four with their newly energised squad, they need to appear for the first half too. While Utd, City, Arsenal, and indeed West Ham, all appear in the top five for first half form too, Spurs do not. In fact they lie far down the table, in 17th, having won only one first half (a statistic they share with Sunderland), drawn a very high six out of nine, and lost two first halves. They’ve also netted only four times to claim their nine points from first halves, compared to 16 in the second.

These slow starts will end up costing Tottenham points, indeed they’ve drawn their last three games, and with five draws in total, have the most in the league. They will now enter a busy winter period where multiple games per week are played, and yet more of a push is needed in the first half of matches if they are to turn these draws into victories and challenge the Premier League big boys.

Tottenham lost 2-1 at home to Stoke City on the weekend, which was their fourth defeat at White Hart Lane this season. Supporters’ anger has somewhat turned to new manager Mauricio Pochettino as the Londoners find themselves six points worse off then this time last season.

This summer, Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy named former Southampton boss Pochettino as the club’s third manager in a year, succeeding Andres Villas-Boas and Tim Sherwood respectively, but Spurs have seemingly gone backwards in the Premier League, and their recent form is one of the worst in the top flight (4 games, 3 defeats).

Naturally, people look at the management and coaching staff to blame for the poor form, but the squad must take responsibility too. Tottenham have a lot of players who aren’t likely to be at the club in the next couple of seasons, but the moving-on process won’t be sped up.

Emmanuel Adebayor‘s contract is up next summer, while Jan Vertonghen, Aaron Lennon, Younes Kaboul and Kyle Naughton’s deal will be up at the end of  next season. The majority could well be allowed to leave which means a minor rebuilding process is required again.

Pochettino was given a long-term deal in his appointment at Tottenham, so clearly Levy knows they have a lot of work to do that can’t be solved in just one summer. But the scale of their problems run much deeper than just personnel.

The Londoners’ indiscipline has been a big issue. Tottenham have had five red cards issued to them in all competitions this season alone. When the chips are down, you need your players to remain composed and calm, but the opposite is happening this season.

Odds of Pochettino to be the next manager out of the door slashed overnight, but Daniel Levy’s managerial changes have made little difference to their league standings in the past few years as shown.

2009/10: 70 points
2011/12: 69 points
2012/13: 72 points
2013/14: 69 points

The lack of improvement from Tottenham in four of the last five seasons shows how the club aren’t moving in a particular direction, but rather standing still, so the changing of managers isn’t helping to better their fortunes.

The London club need a total rebuild, which is something Levy hasn’t allowed previously due to his penchant for sacking managers. He gave Pochettino a five-year deal, however, so he should allow the former Saints boss time to get the club how he wants them to be. Tottenham’s woes won’t be solved with a quick fix.