Tottenham must forget title ambitions and focus on staying in top four, warns Hugo Lloris

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Tottenham Hotspur must forget their title ambitions for the moment and just focus on securing a top four place, captain Hugo Lloris has told his teammates after losing yet more ground on league leaders Manchester City.

Spurs’ 2-0 defeat to bitter rivals Arsenal in the north London derby saw them fall behind Chelsea and drop to fourth place, 11 points behind Pep Guardiola’s side and only one point ahead of seventh-placed Burnley.

Despite their bright start to the season, two defeats in three games against two fellow top six clubs has left their title challenge in tatters and there are even doubts about whether they will hold on to a top-four spot, given Liverpool and Arsenal’s revivals.

“Before we think about City it's important to stay in the top four. This is the main target for our team,” Lloris said. “We heard from outside that Tottenham play for the title, blah, blah, blah. The most important thing is to stay consistent in the league.

“We have been in the top four the last two years and we need to carry on, to settle the club in this position and try to get more experience because the team is still young, then reduce the gap with the best.

“Obviously the future for Tottenham will be bright if we keep the same mentality. It's our ambition, but step by step.

“It's true that we wanted to do more against Manchester United and Arsenal. Unfortunately, we couldn't do that so now it's important to have a run of victories because we need to keep our place at the top.”