Pochettino issues rallying cry as Spurs' troubles worsen

Cape Town - Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino says now is the time to pull together following Saturday's 3-0 defeat at Brighton.

Spurs fans were hoping for a big response after getting thumped 7-2 by Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Saturday’s trip to Brighton, who haven’t tasted victory in the league since the opening day, looked to be the perfect opportunity to bounce back.

But disaster struck just three minutes into the encounter at the Amex Stadium when Hugo Lloris misjudged a cross and Neal Maupay was handed a simple tap in.

Lloris suffered a serious arm injury in the process and was stretchered from the field before being rushed to hospital for further treatment.

The World Cup winner required oxygen on the field and Pochettino admitted the early prognosis doesn’t look good.

“It’s not good news from the hospital,” Pochettino told BBC Sport.

“But to have a better idea we will explain properly through the club, where they will explain what is going on with him.”

Brighton youngster Aaron Connolly, making his first Premier League start, ensured all three points would be staying on the south coast after netting either side of half time to wrap up a 3-0 win.

It leaves Tottenham sitting sixth, although they could end the weekend lower down the standings, and without an away league win since January 20.

There appear to be plenty of problems behind the scenes at the north London club and that is seriously impacting performances.

It has been claimed that there has been a fallout in the dressing room after some players failed to secure moves away from Spurs over the summer.

Pochettino also continues to be linked with an exit, having admitted he considered it after their Champions League final defeat, and if results don’t improve it might only be a matter of time until he calls it a day.

But, for now, Pochettino is saying the right things as they head off for the international break and he insists they can recover as long as they stick together.

He added: “This is a tough moment, a very difficult moment. We need to keep going and I want to say thank you for the fans. It was a big effort to the fans and we put out that performance. When we were on top we were all together. When this type of moment arrives we need to stay all together.”