Tottenham assistant manager Cristian Stellini insists their FA Cup exit will be 'easy to explain' after Newcastle United's top-four rivals suffered a shock loss at Sheffield United. Iliman Ndiaye netted the only goal of the game to settle the fifth-round tie at Bramall Lane on Wednesday night.
Tottenham captain Harry Kane began the match on the bench, but was unable to prevent the defeat despite being introduced in the 65th minute with the score still level. The FA Cup exit followed a run of three wins in their last four Premier League fixtures, including a derby victory over Chelsea on Sunday.
Attention for both Newcastle and Tottenham now returns to the top-four race, with Eddie Howe's side facing a daunting trip to defending champions Manchester City on Saturday. Tottenham take on relegation strugglers Wolves on the same day, and Stellini is not expecting the surprise FA Cup exit to prove to be a damaging setback.
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He told Football.London: "The last two or three performances were really high intensity but when you have this type of performance I hope it will be easy to explain to the players what we need to do. Normally our team react after a game like this.
"It's not the first time it happened and we have to react immediately. Saturday we have an important game and Wednesday another one and we continue."
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