Soccer-Spurs striker shortage 'obvious', says Pochettino

LONDON, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino said it was "obvious" the Premier League club needed to add to their striking options but refused to say whether they would make another bid for West Bromwich Albion forward Saido Berahino. West Brom rejected an offer for Berahino from Spurs on Tuesday and their chairman Jeremy Peace said the club had "no interest" in selling the England under-21 striker. Pochettino told a news conference on Thursday he was not going to speak about the club's private business. "It is obvious we need to add some more (players) in our offensive positions. We identify our targets and the chairman (Daniel Levy) is working very hard to bring new players in," the Argentine said. Harry Kane, who netted 31 goals in all competitions last season, is Tottenham's preferred choice in attack as Emmanuel Adebayor has fallen out of favour while Roberto Soldado was sold to Spanish side Villarreal. Attacking midfielders Christian Eriksen of Denmark and Argentine Erik Lamela have been linked in media reports with a move to Juventus but Pochettino played down speculation the duo would leave. "We keep the best players for the present and future, and to be a good squad which can in the next few years fight for the top four and then one day win the Premier League," he said. "The player (Eriksen) is happy and comfortable here... Lamela is part of my plans, the team. We hope that this is the season he really shows his quality." Spurs have just one point from their opening two matches and travel to Leicester City, who have six points from two games, but Pochettino said he was not concerned yet. "Always we talk about 10 games, after 10 games you need to be worried or happy maybe," he said. But he added he needed the team to tighten up defensively. "People will speak about how we need offensive players but we need to be more consistent because we conceded a lot of goals last season. "It wasn't our problem to score, it was conceding goals, and we need to improve that this season." (Reporting By Michael Hann; editing by Clare Lovell)