Mauricio Pochettino has admitted that Tottenham’s defeat to Liverpool has dented their confidence.
Spurs slumped to a second loss in a week as Gent ran out 1-0 victors in the first-leg of their Europa League last-32 tie in Belgium.
The defeat came despite Pochettino’s clear intention to secure a positive result, as he deployed a near full strength team.
Following the game, the Argentinian admitted that Spurs were still feeling the effects of the defeat to Liverpool just five days earlier.
“Until the Liverpool game we were on a really good run. But after Liverpool it’s true maybe our confidence has dropped a little bit,” Pochettino told BT Sport.
“But today was a different competition. All the people that watched the game know it wasn’t our best game.
“Maybe it was not a good performance but we need to understand that it is difficult to play in the Europa League.”
Spurs will have to overcome their Wembley woes if they are to progress in Europe having failed to score an away goal.
Pochettino remains hopeful that his team can turn around the tie as it is only at the halfway stage.
“The tie is open – it’s not only 90 minutes. It’s a minimal advantage for Gent and we’re capable of turning the tie.
“It’s a fantastic opportunity to try and put pressure on the opponent and demonstrate we can play well at Wembley.”
Mirror.co.uk
