Mauricio Pochettino optimistic European break will see Tottenham move back into Premier League top-four

For the first time Pochettino admitted that his team may have grown 'distracted' by their Champions League campaign, and that it may have been responsible for their struggles back home

Mauricio Pochettino wants his side to click into gear over the festive period (Getty)

Tottenham Hotspur ended their miserable run of form in the Premier League in emphatic fashion on Saturday afternoon and Mauricio Pochettino admitted he is hoping for more of the same over the festive period, now that the club have a short break away from European competition.

For the first time Pochettino admitted that his team may have grown “distracted” by their European campaign, and that it may have been somewhat responsible for their struggles back home. While Spurs unexpectedly topped their Champions League group ahead of defending champions Real Madrid, they have been poor back home and had picked up just two points in their previous four fixtures prior to hammering Stoke 5-1.

After a home draw with West Brom Pochettino conceded that there was now zero chance of his side winning the Premier League title, insisting that their sole priority was to finish in the top-four. And after the Stoke win, he said he expected his team to rise up the table prior to their Champions League Round of 16 fixture, in mid-February.

“Yes, we spent a lot of energy in the Champions League and it was so tough to mix between that competition and the Premier League,” he said after the Stoke win, which saw Spurs close the gap on the top-four to just two points.

“Last season when we were out of the Champions League we were able to focus on the Premier League, but this season the team wanted to show that we were strong in Europe, too. Maybe we were distracted about that.

“And for now we have only the Premier League and we need to be focused and try to win games, because we want to be in the top-four. If something happens with the other teams and they drop position we need to be there, we need to keep winning games.”

The draw for the next stage of the Champions League takes place on Monday, with Spurs guaranteed a slightly kinder Round of 16 opponent as a result of beating Madrid to the top of Group H.

Spurs returned to form against Stoke (Getty)

Despite topping the group Spurs could find themselves handed a tough draw against either Bayern Munich or Juventus – although Pochettino has insisted he would relish the chance of playing one of Europe’s biggest teams for a place in the quarter-finals. Supporters would no doubt rather play either Basel, Sevilla, Shakhtar or Porto instead.

“Motivation is massive for these games and you could see that against Real Madrid,” Pochettino added. “I prefer to play against a team that will motivate everyone rather than a team everybody says you should beat easily. That is when it gets complicated.

“We would love to play against a big team and we always give that little bit extra that you need. After 10-minutes here today, people think you should already be winning 3-0. People don’t have the patience to build the result. Sometimes when we keep possession people aren’t always comfortable. So that is why you sometimes want to play a bigger team as the people are scared a little bit and they instead support and help the team – which provides us with the better energy.”

Tottenham have closed the gap on the top-four to just two points (Getty)

Meanwhile Stoke manager Mark Hughes could only dream of managing his side in Europe, after watching his players capitulate to yet another heavy defeat against one of the top-six.

Stoke had already lost 4-0 to Chelsea and 7-2 to Manchester City, and completely collapsed in the second-half after keeping things relatively tight in the first. The 5-1 defeat marked the first time in Premier League history that a team had lost by four goals or more to a side four times in a row.

“We thought the low point was when we went to Manchester City, but we've got to understand sometimes in games when the momentum shifts totally to the opposition,” he said.

“We have to have the nous and the knowledge to understand what you need to do in those situations. At times we don't do the correct things and just caused the situation to develop even more fully against us. We've got to be more streetwise at times.

“Sometimes we try to play in areas where teams are going to press you and recognise when those moments are coming and the momentum shifts. That's about football intelligence and understanding the game.”