Tottenham boss Antonio Conte thinks his team have a long way to go in their development after their top-four hopes suffered a huge blow thanks to a 2-0 defeat to Wolves.
First-half goals from Raul Jimenez and Leander Dendoncker condemned the hosts to their third consecutive Premier League defeat, the second time Spurs have lost three top-flight games on the bounce this season and Conte's worst league run since he was managing Atalanta in 2009.
Conte refused to question the commitment of his players after the game but acknowledged his team face a "long road" in their quest to compete at the top of the division as he called for patience amid a rebuild.
"Pressure is part of the job, pressure for me and pressure for the players," Conte said. "This type of situation is part of our job.
"When I speak about improving many aspects [of Spurs' performances], it's not only today, after two defeats at home, that I tell you.
"There is a long road, a long path in front of us, It's important not to be scared and to face this path.
"In this moment we have to be realistic and we have to be together.
"Our fans have to understand that maybe you need to have patience, to rebuild the situation they were used to in the past."
Despite the defeat, Conte said he was content with Spurs' second-half improvement, with the hosts recording 67 per cent of possession and registering 10 shots to their opponents' four after the break.
"In my opinion the performance was good, we created many chances to score, [and] we had the possession of the ball.
"The commitment is very high but there is more [required] than this."
Although Spurs did apply more pressure after the break, they recorded just 1.04 expected goals (xG) to their visitors' 1.74 as they fell to a third loss in four home league matches against Wolves.
Spurs also maintained their unwanted record of having never won a Premier League home match when trailing 2-0 at half-time, having recorded four draws and 19 losses from such positions.
Burnley give survival hopes a boost with win at Sheffield United
Burnley ran out 4-1 winners at Sheffield United in the battle of the bottom two to throw themselves a Premier League lifeline.
Jacob Bruun Larsen and Lorenz Assignon struck in the space of two minutes and against the run of play at the end of the first half, before the Blades threatened a comeback when Gus Hamer pulled one back early in the second.
But further goals from Lyle Foster and substitute Johann Berg Gudmundsson crushed the Blades’ hopes as Burnley maintained their late bid for survival.
Vincent Kompany’s side have now taken 10 points from their last seven matches and climbed to within three points of 17th-placed Nottingham Forest, who play at relegation rivals Everton on Sunday.
Blades boss Chris Wilder said this week he wanted his side to extend their survival fight for as long as possible and they created the better first-half chances.
Oli McBurnie’s close-range effort was well saved by Burnley goalkeeper Arijanet Muric, who rescued his side again when parrying Ben Brereton Diaz’s shot.
McBurnie’s rising drive then drew another save from Muric, but against the run of play, the visitors struck twice in two minutes as the interval approached to stun Bramall Lane.
Wilson Odobert’s weaving run to the edge of the area had the Blades back-pedalling and when his blocked shot rebounded to Bruun Larsen, the latter’s low scuffed effort deflected off Jayden Bogle and span inside the near post.
Blades goalkeeper Ivo Grbic had been caught off balance by the ricochet and he was left flat-footed again two minutes later.
Assignon darted in between Ben Osborn and Brereton Diaz on the right edge of the area and his toe-poked shot went through Auston Trusty’s legs and flew high into the net off Grbic’s out-stretched boot for his first Burnley goal.
The Blades went close to reducing their two-goal deficit at the start of the second period when James McAtee’s goalbound shot was brilliantly saved by Muric and the hosts were back in it in the 52nd minute.
Hamer cut inside Assignon on the left edge of the area and curled a superb right-footed finish inside the far post.
Muric denied Brereton Diaz an equaliser with another top-class save before the home side’s fightback hopes were dealt a mighty blow.
Assignon marauded down the right and picked out Foster with a low ball into the box and the striker made no mistake from six yards.
McBurnie fired narrowly wide as the Blades continued to press forward, but they were stung again in the 71st minute when Gudmundsson curled home a fine finish less than a minute after stepping off the bench to replace Vitinho.
Gudmundsson then rattled a post and with Blades fans leaving in their hordes, the Clarets comfortably saw out just their second win of the year.
Derby on verge of promotion after beating Cambridge
Derby moved to the brink of promotion to the Championship after a 1-0 win at Cambridge.
Nathaniel Mendez-Laing’s goal shortly before half-time leaves Paul Warne’s side needing one point at home to bottom club Carlisle next weekend to go up.
Cambridge will be safe if they win either of their two remaining games, or if Cheltenham fail to win both of theirs.
U’s keeper Will Mannion tipped Louie Sibley’s corner onto the bar early on, while at the other end Joe Wildsmith saved well from Macauley Bonne in the 15th minute.
Mendez-Laing nearly scored in spectacular style after 38 minutes, seeing his superb curler from nearly 30 yards come back off the bar, but he only had to wait a few seconds before putting the Rams ahead.
Sibley played Mendez-Laing in behind the defence, and he rounded keeper Mannion outside the box before firing into an empty net.
Cambridge came on strong after the break, with Jordan Cousins firing just wide from distance and Ryan Bennett seeing a shot blocked.
Lincoln come from behind to beat struggling Cheltenham and move into the top six
Lincoln moved into the play-off places with a 2-1 win at Cheltenham, whose League One future is now hanging by a thread.
The Imps have been resurgent under boss Michael Skubala, but they had to come from behind to take the points.
Cheltenham led through Liam Sercombe’s early penalty, but Joe Taylor levelled before half-time and Freddie Draper won it seven minutes after the break.
A midweek win at Burton had kept Cheltenham’s survival hopes alive and their chances of avoiding the drop improved when Jordan Thomas was tripped by Danny Mandroiu in the box. Sercombe stepped up to fire home from the spot in the 15th minute for his 11th goal of the season.
Lincoln responded well and Taylor’s superb run down the left was eventually stopped in the box, but the ball found its way back to him and he applied a clinical finish in the 40th minute for his 22nd goal of the campaign.
Luke Southwood saved from Alex Mitchell early in the second half and also kept out an effort from Ben House, but he could do nothing to prevent Draper from scoring with a low finish in the 52nd minute.
James Olayinka saw a late effort blocked for Cheltenham and their defeat left them five points from safety with two games to play.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
