Tottenham Hotspur have received plenty of plaudits over the last few weeks for their displays in the Premier League and in Europe.

On Sunday, Mauricio Pochettino’s team dismantled Liverpool 4-1 at Wembley to boost their status as genuine Premier League title contenders.

Five days prior, the team gave a strong account of themselves against Real Madrid in the Champions League, restricting the Spanish giants to a 1-1 draw at the Bernabeu.

On Wednesday, though, it was a very different story as the team relinquished a two-goal lead to lose 3-2 to West Ham United in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup.

Pochettino altered his team, resting the likes of Harry Kane and Hugo Lloris, but the Argentine put out a strong enough XI to get the result that they desired.

It was not to be, though, as Spurs crumbled in the second half, conceding three goals in 15 minutes at Wembley.

Before the match, Pochettino made it clear to reporters that he does not regard the Carabao Cup as a priority.

Former West Ham striker Dean Ashton is not buying it. He told TalkSPORT:

“I think it’s pathetic. I just think it’s an excuse, because surely he wants his team to get a winning mentality and that starts with the Carabao Cup. Jose Mourinho has showed in the past how important that first trophy of the season can be and, especially for Tottenham, they need to win something.

“I think you saw last night their lack of experience of winning things. As soon as West Ham scored you could see the way they changed and that’s where you need an experienced player to get around people and say, ‘we need to up the tempo again, we don’t want to let them back in and believe they can win this game’.

“I just didn’t see that from any of the Tottenham players and that’s a worry, especially if you have the manager coming out and saying things like that, because that attitude can seep into the players.”

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