Hugo Lloris warns Tottenham teammates they have no margin for error now top four place is in doubt

Hugo Lloris admits Tottenham Hotspur have no margin for error as they attempt to halt their recent slide and ensure they secure a place in next season’s Champions League.

An alarming run has brought just one point from the last four league games with Mauricio Pochettino, the manager, reacting to Saturday’s defeat at Southampton by accusing his players of demonstrating misplaced arrogance during a second half when the game slipped from their grasp.

Punctuating that run has been a convincing victory at Borussia Dortmund that took Spurs into the last eight of this season’s Champions League. While lifting the trophy will guarantee entry to next season’s competition, a more realistic view is that Spurs must keep two of Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea at arm’s length and finish in the top four if they are to secure their place among European football’s elite next season.

Lloris, the club captain, accepts they must quickly return to the level of performance that made them title contenders until a little over a fortnight ago and produce a flawlesss run-in if they are to achieve their primary target this season.

Asked if he was worried by the league form, the goalkeeper said: “Yes, it’s been four games now without a win. Especially against a team that you except to get points from.

“It’s tough to lose games and it makes things very complicated for us. We had a good gap in the months before, now it has reduced and like I said, we don’t have a joker anymore. We need to win every game until the end. We need to carry on and move on. We know it’s going to be very tight until the end and it’s two places for four teams for the top four.”

Not that Lloris is ready to contemplate Spurs failing to qualify for the Champions League yet. “It's too early to talk about that,” he said. ‘I don't want to talk about supposition, we will see what happens and we will see what we will deserve. We are still in the race and that is the most important thing, but for sure we need to change something, especially away from home.”

This was Tottenham’s fifth successive domestic away defeat, spanning the league and two cup competition. However, there seemed little prospect Spurs would not claim all three points and deepen Southampton’s relegation concerns when Harry Kane gave the visitors the lead midway through a first half that was dominated by Pochettino’s side. The momentum of the match shifted dramatically after the restart, however, and Southampton’s steady pressure was rewarded when Yan Valery levelled and James Ward-Prowse secured victory with a fine, 80th minute free-kick.

Ward-Prowse’s contribution drew praise from Ralph Hasenhuttl who has admitted he has been impressed with the way the midfielder has forced his way into the starting line-up having initially been overlooked by the Southampton manager who now believes the player is worthy of an England call-up.

“He didn’t have a good start with me,” said Hasenhuttl. “I didn’t know him. What I saw in training was he was a very good footballer, but the work against the ball was not what I wanted. It was not his biggest strength. That is what I told him.

“Then I saw a guy who is working on his deficits. Then you get a chance to play and if you grab it with both hands then you get a chance to play again and again. I think he learned very quick what I want to see. Finally he came into positions to score, maybe better in the formation we are playing at the moment. And it helps him a lot.”