Hugo Lloris has stated it is not the moment for Tottenham to throw away everything they have built in the past few weeks. Heading into Saturday's game against Brighton & Hove Albion in the final Champions League spot and with a three-point cushion over Arsenal, the Lilywhites lost 1-0 following a late Leandro Trossard winner.
Spurs were far from their best during the contest and failed to muster a single shot on target against the Seagulls. The defeat certainly hurt captain Lloris, with the Frenchman pointing to how much they have suffered in the past before turning things around under the guidance of Antonio Conte.
"What hurts me the most is, we have suffered so much, and to arrive in this position, it is not the moment to throw away what we have built in the last few weeks," said the World Cup winner. "We received a lot of kicks during the season and it is not the time to give this lift to our rivals. We have a week to prepare for the next game and I hope this defeat will help the team to finish stronger."
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With Conte saying in his post-match press conference that there are games that if you are not able to win, you're not to lose, Lloris echoed the head coach's comments.
"We should have done better. Especially in the context of the game as we knew what we were playing for before the game, but for different reasons we couldn’t get the result we wanted," he added. "It can happen that you have a bad day, but the biggest regret is if you cannot win, then make sure you don’t lose, especially in the 90th minute. It’s too late now, we have to look forward to the next game.
"We knew even after winning at Aston Villa that there is no room to relax, it is going to be a big battle until the final game. It’s the same for all the challengers for the top four. Sometimes you don’t have the answer that you would like, and now it is time to analyse the performance and prepare for the next game."
Tottenham do know how to respond after a defeat after bouncing back numerous times during January and February when their form was extremely inconsistent. Set to come up against some teams with nothing to play for as they are either safe from the drop or not close enough to a European spot, Lloris has outlined the importance of increasing their level of focus.
"We bounce back by winning. In training we’ll prepare as best we can to give us a chance to win, but it is going to be a tough game especially at this period of the season when teams like Brighton are already safe and play with that freedom and without the pressure of the result," he explained.
"Mentally we have to increase the level of focus. Sometimes you can have a lack of energy for various reasons, but the focus is so important. Look at how we conceded the goal, it is all about focus and concentration. It is never too late to learn.
"We don’t have a cushion so we have to go on another run. But we must take it game by game because if we look too far forward, we can slip in other games."
