Thursday 30 October 2014 15:04, UK
Tottenham's lack of concentration and bravery against Newcastle left defender Younes Kaboul feeling frustrated after the weekend's 2-1 defeat.
The result was their third home league defeat of the campaign causing manager Mauricio Pochettino to fume over the team's fragile mentality and his skipper totally understands the criticism.
"It is very disappointing," Kaboul said. "We started the game well and the most difficult task was to score, which we did, and the first half was comfortable.
We want to improve and we work very hard, trust me, and we want to improve at any point
"We had the ball, took our chance but then it was blackout, straight away. We came back on the pitch not thinking, he missed the pass and he went straight away to score. We have to be more brave and focused straight away.
"I think it was five seconds and it shows you at this level there is no mercy, if you're not focused, brave and ready, you pay the bill straight away."
Kaboul was particularly frustrated on Sunday at the way substitute Sammy Ameobi was allowed to level just seconds after half-time.
Asked if concentration was a contributing factor, Kaboul added: "That's maybe the word. Focused and brave - we should not concede goals like that.
"If he scores an unbelievable goal, you can't say anything, but from where it started and where it ended, it's not acceptable.
"When they scored the 1-1, it was another game. It was like the first half was last weekend. It disappeared. Then we conceded the second one, we had chances to come back 2-2. It was really hard."
The comments from Pochettino and Kaboul about mental strength are similar to those made by former boss Tim Sherwood and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris last season.
So, do Tottenham need more character in the squad? "Maybe, yes," Kaboul said. "When you concede a goal straight after coming back on the pitch, you need to reply immediately. You need to send a big signal: 'Okay, you scored, but now we're going to reply'.
"We need to be more consistent and regular and more mature on the pitch. It's about knowing how to control the game, kill the game, knowing how to defend all together in certain phases of the game and to be more confident, too."
This was another missed opportunity for Spurs, who are already closer to the relegation zone than the Champions League places.
The north Londoners have not appeared in Europe's premier club competition since the 2010/11 season and it is looking like that wait is set to continue.
"Of course we want to [qualify for it] but the most important thing for us this season is to finish as high as we can," Kaboul added.
"We want to improve and we work very hard, trust me, and we want to improve at any point."
