Pochettino reveals Tottenham’s biggest failure in West Ham defeat

Jonny Whitfield

Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino admitted that his side’s lack of a finishing touch cost them in their 1-0 defeat to West Ham on Saturday.

Spurs dominated the first half and could have taken the lead, had Hammers goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski not pulled off a number of saves to deny the hosts.

In the second half, West Ham improved and took the lead when Marco Arnautovic’s through ball was lashed past Hugo Lloris by Michail Antonio from close range.

“We all feel disappointed,” the Argentine told Sky Sports after the match. “The first half was good for us, the second half wasn’t – one chance for us, one for them and they score.

“It was tough, we knew that it was going to be tough. The opponents always arrive in a very good condition and are fresh and they made it difficult for us to compete.

“The second half was tougher because we didn’t put away the chances we created. We made an unbelievable effort in the first half to try to score, but in the second half it was difficult because West Ham were difficult to break down.

“We conceded a lot of space and they forced us to run and make an unbelievable effort. In the end we concede and it was tough, now we have to move on.”

Spurs return to action on Tuesday for the first leg of their Champions League semi-final with Ajax.