Pochettino expects tighter defence

Mauricio Pochettino admits Tottenham must tighten up their defence after his side threw away a two-goal lead against Stoke.

Spurs looked on course for their first win of the season at White Hart Lane as first-half goals from Eric Dier and Nacer Chadli put the hosts in the driving seat.

Stoke, however, pulled off an unlikely comeback as Marko Arnautovic’s penalty and then Mame Biram Diouf’s header ensured the points were shared.Tottenham have now kept just one clean sheet in their last 10 matches at home.

The club have signed three defenders in the summer transfer window, with Toby Alderweireld, Kieran Trippier and Kevin Wimmer all coming in, but Pochettino admits there is still work to do.

“I am disappointed,” Pochettino said.

“Until the penalty it is clear we dominated the game and we created the better chances.

“The game was good for us but after the goal we conceded some chances.
“We gave them the opportunity to score and in the end it was very disappointing. My feeling is bad but this is football.

“We need to be more consistent in our performance, and our defensive work.

“We defended a lot of crosses and we need to improve in this area because it was too much in the last 10 minutes.”

Tottenham dominated the opening hour of the contest but seemed to lose control after Pochettino took off Harry Kane and Ryan Mason in the second half.

The draw means Spurs have taken only one point from their first two games, having started with a defeat at Manchester United.

“We were 2-0 up and in any other league, that’s game over,” Mason told the club’s official website.

“At half-time we were saying ‘go and get the third’ but that third goal and the momentum went to them.

“Goals change games and you could see once they scored their first it looked like they were the only team who were going to score again.

“We’re all gutted. To be 2-0 up at home and blow the lead is really disappointing.”