Pochettino: Spurs must understand that “nobody is bigger than the team”

Mauricio Pochettino has insisted Tottenham must learn to understand that “nobody is bigger than the team” in order to continue to progress as a club.

Spurs suffered a disappointing 2-1 loss away to Burnley on Saturday at Turf Moor, which all but ended their Premier League title-challenge for this season.

The end of Tottenham’s title dreams? Five things you need to know…

1. Before the Burnley game, Spurs had won four Premier League matches in a row.
2. However, defeat against Burnley leaves them five points behind both Manchester City and Liverpool.
3. The Reds have a game in hand on Spurs and will pull clear if they secure a positive result against Man United.
4. Pochettino was evidently angry with the match officials at the end of their defeat at Turf Moor.
5. The game also marked the return of England striker Harry Kane, who scored for the away side before Ashley Barnes’ winner.

Speaking to reporters (via Football London) after their 2-1 defeat away to Burnley, Pochettino was frustrated with all manner of things, with the north London club throwing away a real opportunity to close the gap at the top of the table.

When asked about the return of Kane – back from injury and back among the goals for Spurs – Pochettino stressed that the success of the team relies on the entire squad, not just the presence of their leading striker.

Pochettino said: “That shows that the most important thing is the collective.

“We won with other players. You can win or you can lose. It’s pushing a lot, why this player, why that player? Why didn’t he play? We’re going to miss this or that.

“That is why it is all about the collective. Harry scored and I’m so happy that he’s back. He’s going to help the team, but nobody is more important than the team.

“In the day that we understand that maybe we are going to cross the line and improve like a club and team and maybe we are going to be a real contender. Until that it’s going to be really difficult.”

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Pochettino rues missed opportunity 

Spurs never really got going at Turf Moor and rarely resembled the team that has won the most points on the road this season (33).

Pochettino believes that his players missed a real opportunity to prove to others that Spurs are capable of competing at the top end of the Premier League table.

He continued: “I think it was a fantastic opportunity for us to be a real contender and to show everyone that we deserved to be there.

“If you come here and in the end you are not capable of winning then of course you cannot justify your defeat or say you are not a contender because something is outside of our environment.

“The most important thing is to see inside yourself, we need to improve, we need to defend better, we need to play better, we need to be better in possession, we need to improve our quality, we need to be stronger. ”

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