Pochettino: "The feeling of course in the last 10 minutes of the game, when we conceded three goals, it's like the team was tired and gave up a little bit."
Wednesday 2 October 2019 11:53, UK
Mauricio Pochettino says Tottenham's 7-2 thrashing by Bayern Munich is "so difficult to accept" but urged for "calm" and "no rush analysis" in the immediate aftermath of the defeat.
Tottenham led after just 12 minutes through Heung-Min Son but after Joshua Kimmich and Robert Lewandowski turned the game around before the break, things began to unravel for Spurs eight minutes into the second period.
Former Arsenal winger Serge Gnabry scored four goals as the hosts were embarrassed, conceding seven at home for the first time in a major competition.
But Pochettino believes it is not the time to give a rash assessment on a chastening night for the north London club.
"Now is a moment to be calm and not make a mistake," he said. "After a result like today, stay calm. We all know how we feel, very disappointed, the feelings, of course, are not so good.
"We are not going to fix nothing by shouting or talking when the emotions are on the skin. The feeling of course in the last 10 minutes of the game, when we conceded three goals, it's like the team was tired and gave up a little bit.
"That shows a little bit our frustration during the game because until the 82nd minute the team was alive. The [team] was fighting, we created a few chances to score the third goal. But they were very clinical.
"Of course, we are so, so disappointed. I feel very, very, very disappointed. I feel so bad because we have conceded seven goals. It's so tough. But we need to face this type of situation.
"It's always nice when you play a final in the Champions League, it's nice to put my face in front of you. But now I put my same face in front of you and accept that we weren't as good as we expect."
It leaves the Premier League side in an all-too familiar position of floundering in the early part of the group stage, having had to perform a miracle to progress to the knockout stages last year.
This hammering, the worst under Pochettino, will lead to some inquest, and they already have work to do if their Champions League journey is not going to end before Christmas.
Pochettino added: "The most important is to move on in this type of situation. Of course you assess always the team, assess the players. I feel we are very critical of ourselves and of course to find a way to fix the problem. We try to work, to try to move on.
"I think it's more psychological now to try to move on, talking in a different way. The most important thing now is to stay calm. No rush analysis. No rush assessment. It's so important now to take a few hours to see what happened.
"But again I repeat my feeling was good after 30 minutes I think no one inside the stadium expected that result.
"Of course, destabilisation happens, and you need to show your quality like a man first. You need to put your quality, your strength as a person to face this kind of situation. Now we need to be men and face the problem and be strong together and bounce back and try to change that feeling.
"To be honest, after 30 minutes, or after the half-time, it was my best feeling managing the team this season. That is so difficult to accept how after, in the second half, that feeling changed and you feel so bad. We need to give the credit to them and of course, for us, we need to move on to the next game."
Former Tottenham goalkeeper Paul Robinson told Soccer Special...
"It's a totally embarrassing night for Tottenham. Pochettino has got big problems. There's clearly something amiss. They look disjointed and disgruntled. When they went two or three goals down, there was no fight.
"Tottenham were appalling. It's unacceptable. They capitulated. They had no leaders on the pitch. They had no spine, they had no fight. It was a very, very worrying display."
Former Tottenham striker Darren Bent told The Debate:
"I'm a little bit in shock. The situation down at Spurs hasn't been great for a little while now. To be on the back of that hiding, it's scary to think.
"They reached the final of the Champions League last season and probably had high expectations this season, but to be beaten seven and the manner in which they were at home, it's really disappointing.
"In the last four seasons, we've all sung their praises, and they did well to overcome some of the situations they got into last season in the Champions League. They should've gone out of the group but ended up getting to the final.
"This season, they just don't seem like the same Spurs and don't seem to have the same hunger, the same buzz. Pochettino hasn't got the same charm, so for me, maybe behind closed doors, something seems to be very wrong.
"I'm amazed [to see him perform so well on the European stage],"Tony Pulis, who managed Serge Gnabry at West Brom, told Sky Sports.
"I had him at West Brom, we took him on loan and we could never get him fit - he even got taken off in an U21 game.
"He went back to Arsenal, they sold him on. He was a good kid, nice kid. I didn't mind him at all.
"He's really fulfilled his potential. You could knock me over with a feather. Having worked with him at West Brom and seeing him there - what he's done is absolutely amazing.
"When people show what they can do and really knuckle down and become so good - as he's done - it's absolutely fantastic."
Tottenham travel to face Brighton at the Amex Stadium in the Premier League on Saturday. Kick-off is at 12.30pm. They are back in Champions League action on October 22 at home to Red Star Belgrade.
