Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has said that his players were ‘complacent’ and ‘arrogant’ after their loss to Southampton on Saturday.
Spurs advanced past Bundesliga contenders Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League earlier this week but their momentum was quickly halted by Southampton thanks to second-half goals from Yan Valery and James Ward-Prowse.
Harry Kane opened Spurs account after 26 minutes and helped set up a one goal lead at half-time but Pochettino was irate with his side’s second-half collapse.
“I am so, so, so disappointed,” he said in his post-match interview.
“I am a little bit worried about this change from the first half to the second half – it’s only one thing, it’s mental.
“It’s about complacency, it’s about arrogance in a bad way. You can use the first half as an example of [positive] arrogance, playing with intention, focus, concentration – we matched them in everything and we were much better.
“And in the second half it’s the arrogance in a bad way. We need to blame all of us, the club.”
Meanwhile in more welcoming news for the club, Spurs look finally set to play in their new stadium after extended delays with construction.
The new 62,000 seater was built on the original grounds of Tottenham’s old stadium – White Hart Lane – and the club will face either Brighton or Crystal Palace at the new venue in the first week of April, subject to Brighton’s progress in the FA Cup.
A Tottenham statement said: “We have held discussions with the Premier League and UEFA. The following has been agreed with the Premier League, Brighton and Crystal Palace to ensure that our first game is a Premier League match prior to a UEFA Champions League quarter-final match.
“If Brighton win their FA Cup quarter-final match on Sunday 17 March we shall play Crystal Palace on Wednesday 3 April and Brighton on 23/24 April.
“If Brighton lose their FA Cup quarter-final match on 17 March we shall play Brighton on 6/7 April (subject to Champions League scheduling) and Crystal Palace on 23/24 April.”
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