Football
Dan Kilpatrick, Tottenham Correspondent 6y

Tottenham gap to Manchester City now 'massive' - Mauricio Pochettino

LONDON -- Mauricio Pochettino has admitted it will be nearly impossible for Tottenham to overhaul league leaders Manchester City and win the title after dropping more points against West Brom on Saturday.

City can move 13 points clear of Spurs with a win at Huddersfield Town on Sunday after Pochettino's team followed last weekend's 2-0 defeat to rivals Arsenal with a frustrating 1-1 draw against the manager-less Baggies.

Pochettino's Spurs have finished third and then second in the last two seasons but he conceded it would be difficult to go one better again if City beat Saints.

"Yes, it's true that the gap is now 10 points and that's massive in the Premier League. Now we need to be focused on trying to improve us and be more consistent at Wembley and try to win more games here like it was at White Hart Lane," said Pochettino, who had not been asked about Spurs' temporary home.

"It's true that it's different to White Hart Lane but that is our reality. We cannot escape from our reality. Our reality is playing here and waiting for our new stadium. That's not an excuse. I think the team is doing well. I'm only disappointed when you drop points when you deserve to take all three points."

Spurs have now dropped points against Chelsea, Burnley, Swansea and West Brom at the national stadium and laboured to 1-0 wins over Bournemouth, Barnsley and Crystal Palace, with their only big wins at Wembley coming over European giants Borussia Dortmund, Liverpool and Real Madrid.

Asked about Spurs' difficulties in breaking down smaller teams at Wembley, Pochettino said: "I think today only we need to talk about West Brom, because against Swansea I think we played much better than against Crystal Palace.

"We won three points against Crystal Palace and couldn't against Swansea or Burnley, or how we lose to Chelsea here at home. I think today I'm pleased because the team made a massive effort after Borussia Dortmund [on Tuesday].

"It was very competitive and we tried to win and score to the end. The effort was massive, but in the last third we need to do more and be more clinical in front of goal. The team creates chances and the ball arrives in a good condition but it's important to be clinical in the last third."

Harry Kane's goal twenty minutes from time earned a point for Spurs after Salomon Rondon gave West Brom a shock fourth-minute lead, to the delight of interim boss Gary Megson, who was standing in after Tony Pulis' sacking earlier this week.

"We feel disappointed," Pochettino added. "But I am pleased with the effort after the Dortmund game. We tried in different ways to win the game. In the moment that we conceded the goal so early, it's true that it had a massive impact on us. They believed in that moment that it was possible to win the game. It's true that we were wrong in the way that we tried to find the creative space and we moved the ball so slowly in the first half an hour of the game.

"But maybe because how we conceded the goal was such a big impact. In the last 15 minutes we began to play so much better, moved the ball better and found better space. In the second half I think it was very good. The team played very well and created many chances. It's disappointing to drop two points, but from my point of view and the team's it's so difficult to explain why we didn't win the game today."

Erik Lamela was absent again for Spurs after his girlfriend gave birth, while Pochettino was unimpressed with a question about Danny Rose, who was left out of the matchday squad for the second weekend running but is not injured.

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