Pochettino: Tottenham played in the wrong way

Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino said Tottenham were wrong in their approach to Saturday’s Premier League clash with Wolves, which ended in a shock 3-1 defeat.

Spurs took a first-half lead through a fantastic Harry Kane strike but could not kick on as they did in thumping wins over Everton and Bournemouth in recent matches.

Instead they were stunned by a second-half revival from Wolves, with Willy Boly, Raul Jimenez and Helder Costa all on target for the visitors.

The result, which ends a five-match winning run in the league, deals a blow to Spurs’ title hopes, with Pochettino’s side having climbed above Manchester City into second with their 5-0 hammering of Bournemouth on Boxing Day.

“We did not dominate the ball in the second half,” said Pochettino. “We were wrong in the way we tried to play, too much long ball and our energy dropped in the second half.

“It was difficult to come back into the game after their equaliser. But that is football.

“We have had a very good run in the last few weeks and to keep that level is difficult.

FULL-TIME: A disappointing afternoon at Wembley. pic.twitter.com/fUUxNaXn2U

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) December 29, 2018

“We tried to play a little more in the second half, but we were too direct and I think we started to pay for the effort in the other games.

“We are not machines. We need to understand that we cannot get ourselves in this situation.

“I think we used the ball in the wrong way and allowed them to create chances on the transitions.”

Spurs travel to Cardiff City on New Year’s Day.