Ange Postecoglou has admitted that he cannot use his magic wand to revive Tottenham’s desire to finish in the top four of the Premier League.
Postecoglou’s men lost 2-1 at home to Wolves on Saturday, two points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa.
Villa edged Tottenham 2-1 at Fulham, who dominated the game but struggled in the absence of injured defenders Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie.
Tottenham moved back up to fourth last weekend with a last-gasp win over Brighton, but their first defeat in six league games was a major setback.
Joao Gomes gave Wolves a deserved lead in the 42nd minute. Dejan Kulusevski equalised for Tottenham 34 seconds after the restart, but Gomes scored his second in the 63rd minute after a great solo effort from Pedro Neto.
Tottenham have not scored in the first half in their last five home games and Postecoglou said the only solution to their problems is to train on the pitch.
“We will work hard, we have two weeks to prepare for the next game (against Crystal Palace) and there is no point in feeling sorry for ourselves,” he said.
“You take the knocks and you have to move on, no matter what happened in the past. You have to make sure you’re ready for the next game.
“There are no tricks, it’s hard work. I’m not a magician, I’m a football manager. It’s hard work that these guys have been doing all year.
“Like I said, we’ve got to this point, which is pretty decent, through hard work and we’ll continue to do that.”