Hughes disappointed with Potters

Cape Town - Stoke boss Mark Hughes expressed his disappointment after seeing Tottenham play his side off the park in a 4-0 win at the Britannia Stadium on Monday night.

The Potters found themselves trailing after just nine minutes when Harry Kane broke the deadlock, although Spurs only wrapped up victory in the second half with another goal from the England striker and a Dele Alli  brace.

Hughes had nothing but praise for Mauricio Pochettino's team, who were better in every department on the pitch as they closed to within five points of Premier League leaders Leicester with four games left to play.

However, the Welshman was less than pleased with the performance of his players and admitted his frustration at having conceded  early again in a game.

"Don't underestimate the quality of Spurs, but I have to admit that we were poor this evening," Hughes said in his post-match press conference.

"We didn't do the things that we spoke about prior to the game which is disappointing. Conceding the goal early on was frustrating again, because it was identical to what happened at Anfield last weekend.

"We need to be more resolute in our defensive work. Tonight wasn't good enough and we know that we have to improve at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.'

Commenting on Spurs, he added: "You have to give them credit this evening because, to a man, they were absolutely fantastic. You certainly wouldn't bet against them catching Leicester and winning the title on the back of that performance.

"They are an outstanding team and were quicker to every ball, and had a bit more quality in key areas of the pitch. We struggled all evening to deal with their power and pace all over the pitch to be perfectly honest.

"They were more intelligent with their play tonight and you can see why they are where they are in the league table at the moment."