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Tottenham boss Pochettino says Spurs need to improve

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Mauricio Pochettino expects to be without Hugo Lloris and Kyle Walker for Tottenham's match against Newcastle on Sunday.

Tottenham head coach Mauricio Pochettino says his team need to improve against Newcastle as they look to shake off a poor run of results.

Pochettino wants to get back to winning ways after a disappointing spell that has seen them held to a goalless draw at Burnley and beaten at home by Tim Sherwood's Aston Villa.

The Spurs boss insists his players are not already thinking of their summer holidays.

He said: "When you lose it is an easy explanation. In football we use a lot of those but it's not true.

"When you lose we need to be serious and analyse why. But it is difficult to explain sometimes why.

"It is true that different things happen during the season, we are up or down. But it is true that the last two games were not good. We need to improve."

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Pochettino also sympathises with under-pressure Newcastle boss John Carver who faces a fans boycott on Sunday in a show of defiance against owner Mike Ashley, as another disappointing season for the Toon army comes to a close.

"In your career, sometimes maybe you are up and sometimes you are down," the Spurs boss said. "We know the stress.

"You suffer a lot when things are not good, so for that reason I care a lot about my colleague.

It is true that different things happen during the season, we are up or down. But it is true that the last two games were not good. We need to improve.
Mauricio Pochettino

"I think we understand that when you put your face in front on the touchline and you are a head coach or a manager, you are responsible.

"If you want to keep your place, you need to stay behind (the scenes). The manager, the head coach, needs to be brave because it is not an easy job.

"When the good things happen, sometimes it is good to hear 'good job', 'good manager', 'good man'.

"When the problems arrive, it is difficult to be in a good mood like me today. But it is important to be brave and to be calm and to be clever because you need to understand this is football."

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