Tottenham's quest for title is yet again dented by home horrors at Wembley as Mauricio Pochettino insists it doesn't matter where his players play

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Around the same time Mauricio Pochettino was getting tetchy about his new home on Saturday evening, Kieran Trippier was asked a rather loaded and entirely relevant question in the next corridor.

Can Tottenham take the title on away form alone? He straight-batted, going along the lines that Spurs needed to 'move on' from the unsolved problem of Swansea and their excellent defence.

But the answer, much like Tottenham's Wembley form, was unconvincing.

Dele Alli and Harry Kane react in frustration after Tottenham miss an opportunity to score

What is happening at the national stadium is largely predictable given the history of clubs moving home, but it's a big concern if Tottenham are to achieve the improbable and win the league from a temporary base.

Can they do that while drawing at home to Swansea and Burnley? That appears highly doubtful, even at this early stage. The facts of the situation are that Tottenham have played three league games at home and dropped seven points.

While that includes a defeat by Chelsea, the scenario takes on a more troubling light when you consider only four points were given away at White Hart Lane in the entirety of last season, with wins over each of Swansea, Burnley and Chelsea.

Tottenham went unbeaten at White Hart Lane last season but have not found the same success

The Wembley 'hoodoo' talk overblows the topic, because they are playing pretty well – they controlled possession against Burnley and Swansea, only they didn't take their chances. They also looked excellent at times in beating a depleted Borussia Dortmund side in the Champions League.

But it is impossible to shake the sense that an adaptation that needed to be perfect for title-winning purposes might have already gone too far awry.

To that end, a look at all the league winners since the turn of the decade is illuminating in the context of points dropped at home against traditionally smaller clubs – Manchester City drew with Sunderland in 2011-12 and again in 13-14, Chelsea had a draw against Burnley in 2014-15, Leicester drew with Bournemouth and West Brom, and Chelsea lost to Crystal Palace last season.

Mauricio Pochettino was frustrated to field more questions on Tottenham's 'Wembley curse'

That recent history suggests Tottenham might have used all their lives against the lesser lights at home and it's only the middle of September. There surely can't be any more slips at Wembley.

Certainly, Pochettino is growing a little prickly on the subject. When asked if he had made allowances before the season started for dropped points at Wembley, he said: 'I don't care. I don't think about whether we are playing at Wembley or White Hart Lane, the most important thing is to win. Three days ago we were saying how fantastic the team was after Dortmund. Now we draw after not conceding one shot on target and people are saying we need to improve.

'We were much better than Swansea and were unlucky not to win. We do not need to find an excuse.'

When it was pointed out that there was no need to panic as Chelsea made a worse start last year, Pochettino said: 'I don't know who is panicking over this.'

Spurs have dropped more points in three Wembley games than they did in 19 at home last term

He had already been irritated by a question in an earlier media briefing about not starting Mousa Dembele. Returning to the point, he said: 'People need to realise we are all together. Watch the football and then be a little more clever with the questions. No?'

For Swansea, it was a far more satisfying trip to a club that usually wallops them. There was a marginally improved performance from Bayern Munich loanee Renato Sanches, but he is still some way form hitting his brilliant stride.

Alfie Mawson said: 'He is a quality player in training. He hasn't played a lot of football lately so he needs to get that fitness back and when he does he will be a star player and it will be a joy to play with him.'