Here’s every word the Tottenham Hotspur boss said after the 1-0 defeat to Manchester City in the FA Cup fourth round on Friday
How frustrated are you with the way that game went down, giving up late after playing hard the entire time?
Yes, that part is disappointing, I suppose. It didn’t allow you time to heal because it happened so late. To be honest, we only managed to stay in the game by fighting really hard to do so. Tonight, that was insufficient to cross the finish line.Sorry to ask this post-match but what’s your response to the Jurgen Klopp news today which has startled everyone?Indeed, this is probably not the appropriate moment to inquire about it, my friend.Was there enough in it for Guglielmo Vicario to seek a foul late on with the goal?After careful examination by the referee and VAR, who have determined otherwise, we must accept their decision.
How come you believe the squad was so uninspired moving forward? Were the players simply having trouble getting going, or was the caliber of the opposition to blame?
It was, I believe, a combination of the two. They are an excellent team. They set the standard. We have no illusions about the fact that we are not there yet. I just thought that the entire second half was fine; in the first, we were simply too passive in a lot of our play, which let them to
In the first forty-five minutes, it was all about simply believing and becoming more confident in ourselves. As I mentioned before, once they establish a routine, it becomes quite difficult to break that habit. We produced a few positive moments for ourselves in the first fifteen to twenty minutes, and I felt that we accomplished it [belief] in the second half.
I felt our defense was strong. It’s not like they made a lot of plays against us, or that Vic had a million saves to make. Even if it’s terrible to give up thus late, that’s not our focus.
We put in enough effort, but it seemed more like we were playing the game to remain in it than actually winning.It’s reasonable to state that they have eight or nine years on us. I hope that people’s perceptions of the team we’re attempting to form are somewhat enlightened. Not in a span of six months. In six months, I doubt even City accomplished it. That does not imply that you avoid the issue, that you are not dissatisfied by it, or that you do not believe that there was another way you might have approached it. It’s not an excuse, but the truth is that we’re still very much in the early phases and they’ve already gone a long way toward being the squad they are. That has to be your new standard going forward.
