Premier League: Mauricio Pochettino urges 'mentality change' after Tottenham suffer defeat to Stoke
Monday 10 November 2014 10:21, UK
Mauricio Pochettino admits he faces a battle to "change the mentality" of his Tottenham side after a 2-1 home defeat to Stoke.
Nacer Chadli sparked a late rally but first-half goals from Bojan Krkic and Jon Walters proved enough for the visitors and saw Spurs slip to 12th in the Premier League table.
Pochettino's men have now lost four out of their last five home games in the league and while the man lured in the summer from Southampton called for time to forge his own style, he knows an upturn must come quickly.
"It's clear from the results that we need to improve, we need to improve a lot," Pochettino said.
"It's another defeat and we need to improve, this is clear to see. In football you always need time to implement different methods but we need to improve quickly because you never have a long time in football.
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"You need to get results and we need to find a solution quickly. My challenge in the next few weeks is to change the mentality and to find that solution.
You need to get results and we need to find a solution quickly. My challenge in the next few weeks is to change the mentality.
"When we conceded the first goal, we felt the pressure.
"When you play the way we want to play, you need to feel confident on the pitch because it's important to create the space, to be patient with the ball.
"It's true that when we conceded the goal we started to take rash decisions and felt uncomfortable in possession.
"We have to find a solution and change the mentality.
"We conceded a goal after six minutes and then the team needed a lot of time to recover the performance. This is what we need to change."
Pochettino substituted Christian Eriksen at half-time for the second consecutive league game and also took Andros Townsend off at the break.
The Argentine boss insisted the pair were replaced for "tactical reasons" and said the players shared his disappointment in the dressing room.
"They know my feelings and I know their feelings," Pochettino added.
"We have been here for months and we know the players and the players know me.
"We feel the same. We are very disappointed and frustrated and not happy because our performance was not good enough."
