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<\/a><\/p>\nNEWCASTLE, England (Reuters) -Tottenham Hotspur captain Hugo Lloris labelled his side’s collapse at Newcastle United in the Premier League ’embarrassing’ on Sunday as the North London club’s top-four hopes suffered a huge blow.<\/p>\n
Tottenham could have moved level on points with Newcastle with a win but conceded five goals in the opening 21 minutes, eventually losing 6-1 at St James’ Park.<\/p>\n
Many of the Tottenham fans who had made the long trip to Tyneside were seen leaving before halftime.<\/p>\n
“It’s very embarrassing. We should apologise to the fans. We didn’t show a good face and we could not match the performance of the Newcastle players,” Lloris, who was substituted at halftime, told Sky Sports.<\/p>\n
“We were late in all aspects of the game and we completely missed the first part of the game. The second half is a different story but it’s really painful.<\/p>\n
“It is not even about tactics, we just could not fight and we were late. It is difficult right now to assess the performances but there was a lack of pride.”<\/p>\n
Tottenham remain in fifth place with 53 points from 32 games but they are six behind third-placed Newcastle, who have a game in hand, and also six behind fourth-placed Manchester United, who have two games in hand.<\/p>\n
With teams below them such as Liverpool and Brighton & Hove Albion also having games in hand, the question is not so much about the Champions League now for Spurs, but whether they will even hang on to a European spot.<\/p>\n
“You can get punched once or twice but it was like we could not even react or bounce back,” Lloris said.<\/p>\n
“Newcastle deserve a lot of credit for starting the game at 100 miles per hour. They knew exactly what to do.”<\/p>\n
Tottenham resemble a club in disarray, having fired Antonio Conte and replaced him with interim coach Cristian Stellini and, on Friday, losing director of football Fabio Paratici after his appeal against a two-and-a-half-year ban for false accounting was rejected by Italy’s highest sports court.<\/p>\n
They also face a fight to keep Harry Kane, their record scorer, at the club but Lloris said there were no excuses.<\/p>\n
“We cannot hide ourselves behind the club’s problems, we are professionals but today there was too much lacked,” he said.<\/p>\n
“There was a differences in level between Newcastle and Tottenham. We have two very difficult games to bounce back with.”<\/p>\n
Tottenham host Manchester United at home on Thursday and face Liverpool away next Sunday.<\/p>\n
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; editing by Clare Fallon)<\/p>\n
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