West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui said his side need “the right mentality” following their 4-1 defeat to Tottenham and revealed his side had come into the contest with high expectations.
Lopetegui’s team were put to the sword by their London neighbours as Spurs scored three times in eight second-half minutes to inflict further misery on what has been a tough start for the Hammers this season.
West Ham have won just twice in the Premier League this term, and the defeat against Spurs leaves Lopetegui’s team in 14th place, four points above the drop zone.
To compound West Ham’s afternoon at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, they were reduced to ten men shortly before the end of the game after Mohammed Kudus was dismissed for kicking out and rasing his arms at Micky van de Ven.
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Kudus had initially been shown a yellow card by referee Andy Madley but, following a VAR check, the card was changed to red.
After the game, Lopetegui insisted his players need to remain strong mentally.
He told TNT Sports: “For sure we are disappointed. We came here with big expectations, knowing the difficulties we are going to have and knowing they [Tottenham] are one of the best teams in the league.
“I think we did well in a lot of moments until the first minutes of the second half.
“After the second goal I think we had a terrible 10 minutes that we have to avoid. We have to keep our principles until the end to be a team.
“This is one thing we have to learn. Bad things happen but you have to compete until the end and with the right mentality.”
When asked about Kudus’ dismissal, Lopetegui said: “We have to accept the decision and avoid that kind of action because despite that we are losing we have to be able to compete.
“To fight until the end with 11 players. This is important.”
Julen Lopetegui reflects on his side’s 4-1 loss away to Tottenham
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West Ham midfielder Tomas Soucek appeared equally downbeat, with the Czech international struggling to hide his frustration.
He said: “Honestly, we are so angry, so frustrated. All of us.
“It can’t happen. It’s a big derby for us and a massive game for our fans. We are just very sad.
“But we have the week to overcome it and win the next game at home against Man United.”
