Pochettino throws down gauntlet to Spurs players

London - Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino challenged his players to maintain their intensity after they brought an end to Chelsea’s 13-match winning streak on Wednesday night at White Hart Lane.

The win was Tottenham’s fifth in a row and took them into third place in the Premier League, seven points behind Chelsea.

Speaking after the win, Pochettino said that he wants his team to do better than last year when they finished third after fading in the last few games of the season.

“Our performance today showed that we can be competitive and we can achieve big things,” said Pochettino.

“But it's true it's only one game. We need to be consistent over the whole season. We are happy with the victory but it's only three points. And we still have a lot of things to do.”

Pochettino challenged his players to continue their recent form into the second half of the season.

“To keep the intensity is always the challenge,” he added.

“If we want to fight at the end of the season for big things, to lift trophies, you need to keep that intensity always. “

“It was important for us to reduce the gap,” Pochettino said. “The top four is very competitive, very close. It was perfect for us to arrive in the third place, and to be close. That is important for us. And there are a lot of games to come before the end of the season. Anything can happen in football.”

Meanwhile, Chelsea boss Conte was upset that Chelsea’s winning streak had come to end.

“We have to restart, to continue to work,” he said. “It could be a good test for us. After a defeat it’s always very difficult to know your reaction. We showed we’re a team and this is very important for me.

We tried to fight, we tried to win the game. I saw the right will in my players. My methods and ideas don’t change if we lose a game. My priority is to come and win.”

Chelsea will be looking to put the recent loss to Spurs behind them when they face Peterborough in a third-round FA Cup clash at Stamford Bridge on Sunday before taking on Champions Leicester City in an English Premiership fixture.

Kick off is at 17:00.