Tottenham Hotspur star makes ‘strange’ claim after sitting out Newcastle United defeat

The humbling defeat leaves Spurs six points adrift of the Champions League places having played two games more than Manchester United in fourth and one more than Newcastle in third. But the nature of the defeat, which saw Tottenham concede five goals in the opening 21 minutes, was particularly difficult to take for the away players and supporters.

The result ultimately saw acting head coach Cristian Stellini relieved of his duties and Ryan Mason appointed in caretaker charge. Chairman Daniel Levy and the Spurs players also issued separate statements apologising for the defeat and offering to reimburse away supporters' tickets.

Lenglet was an unused substitute in the match after picking up a foot injury in the 3-2 defeat against AFC Bournemouth the game prior. But he admits the past few days at the club have been particularly difficult as the players look to bounce back against Manchester United on Thursday (8:15pm kick-off).

“It was a difficult day, the defeat to Newcastle, but the way we lost the game, you’re always disappointed,” Lenglet told talkSPORT. “After the statement from the club about Cristian [Stellini], the last two, three days were tough.

“Now we need to push together in the same direction to fight against Manchester United and get the best result possible. After a defeat like Newcastle you suffer a lot, especially in the dressing room because it is never easy to accept that.

“They way we played is difficult to understand, fans travel away to watch the game and it was painful for us to sense the frustration from them. We have a game against Man United and we need to prepare and be prepared for it, and ready to fight again and show a better face.

“We need to start the game strong, and push to achieve the best result possible.

“We are in fifth position and it is because [Stellini] did a great job, and now we need to recognise this.

“Ryan [Mason] is in a new role, but he has been here for a long time, so everybody in the club knows his quality.

“We need to find a solution to win for him and the club, because it is a difficult task for him.”

Despite recent set-backs, Lenglet hasn’t written off Spurs’ Champions League hopes just yet.

“It is not finished,” he added. “We have to wait until the end before we can make an assessment of the season, because anything can happen right now.

“If we qualify for the Champions League it will be a strange season, but a good one, as it is always hard to finish in the top four.

“We will try our best to end up finishing there, but we are fighting against big teams who have an advantage, so we need to push very hard.

“We have to be fully focussed on the pitch, and try to do everything in the right way, and be ready to perform. There are 18 points to play for left, so a lot yet to achieve before qualification.”