<
>

Tottenham's Mauricio Pochettino: Wembley was not the problem

LONDON - Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino refused to blame Wembley for Sunday's 1-1 draw with Burnley after Chris Wood's 92nd-minute equaliser.

Spurs followed last Sunday's defeat to Chelsea at the national stadium with another disappointing result, but Pochettino said their failure to win was a "collective mistake."

They have now dropped five points in two matches at their temporary home -- one more than in the whole of last season at White Hart Lane -- winning once in eight outings under Pochettino there.

But the manager said: "No, it's not the problem, it's not a Wembley problem.

"In football, if you're not concentrated and focused sometimes when you're tired, you concede or gave the opponent the possibility to score.

"That's how it was today and how it was against Chelsea. That was the key.

"Wembley is nothing to do with it. If you remember the games that we played against Burnley at White Hart Lane, it was always very tough.

"I think Wembley helps a lot to break the defensive line, to score a goal, to create the chance.

"And we cannot complain. I think we need to stop. If some people are thinking about that, they need to stop. We have the responsibility to do better, to try to win.

"The way that today we conceded the goal, it wasn't the problem with Wembley.

"I think it's a collective mistake. We are guilty when we lose and of course when we win, that's football, that's a collective result."

Clarets debutant Wood found space between Kieran Trippier and Toby Alderweireld to fire past Hugo Lloris in the second minute of stoppage time, cancelling out Dele Alli's 49th-minute opener.

"I feel disappointed how we conceded the goal because we showed a lack of concentration at the end," Pochettino added.

"At the end, when you are capable to score and you have the chances to kill the game, you must kill it.

"If you do not kill the game, you cannot show that lack of concentration at the end -- we conceded a goal with five or six players behind the ball."

Striker Harry Kane finished the match having had 10 shots but is still yet to ever score a league goal in August, a run of 13 games.

Pochettino added: "I feel sorry for him because he had the opportunities to score, and a striker needs a bit of luck.

"But I am sure that Harry will start to score as soon as possible -- I have no doubt about it."