Tottenham striker Emmanuel Adebayor believes his side have got to develop a killer instinct if they are to achieve their targets for this season.
A late Harry Kane own goal denied Spurs a win at the Stadium of Light in a game that finished 2-2, with their Togo striker admitting they need to add a ruthless edge to their make-up.
"We've got to finish teams off when we've got them on the ropes," Adebayor told reporters. "We didn't do that. If it happens a lot then yes, it is worrying.
"If you play badly and draw then it is quite good, as I am sure the Sunderland players will tell you. Their manager won't be able to believe they came away with a point.
"It felt like a good performance, we were in such control, but we will head back, watch it again and see where we went wrong because when you have so much of a game and don't win, it means something has gone wrong."
- Crace: Spurs lacking mental strength
- Randall: Sunderland's Poyet has plenty to ponder
Adebayor conceded Tottenham needed to bounce back from their 3-0 home defeat against Liverpool in the final round of Premier League games before the recent international break, but his frustration at their failure to beat Sunderland was evident.
"If there was a positive, it was that we started both halves very well," he added. "The manager stressed that, after the Liverpool result and we couldn't have made better starts to both halves.
"Twice we gave ourselves a platform and couldn't build on it. Even after they equalised the first time, we had many chances to put the game out of sight, but we couldn't do it."