Spurs keeper highlights the bigger picture after Liverpool defeat

By Ben Pearce, Tottenham correspondent Monday, March 11, 2013
11:56 AM

Hugo Lloris says Tottenham’s defeat against Liverpool was just a blip in an otherwise excellent run of form, and he has warned his team-mates that the setback “must not break their confidence”.

Spurs had previously set a club record with a 12-match unbeaten streak in the Premier League, collecting 28 points from a possible 36 following their 2-1 loss at Everton on December 9.

That run has taken the Lilywhites into third place and, although they missed the chance to extend their lead over their rivals after throwing away the lead and going down 3-2 at Anfield yesterday, Lloris insists there is no cause for panic.

“This game must not break our confidence,” he said. “We did great things before this game and it’s just one game in the season. We have to look forward and prepare for the next game with great concentration, and to have three points at the end.

“We are disappointed because we lost but there are a lot of positives things to think about after this game. We have to keep our lucidity about the situation - we are still third. We will look at other results and see what happens between now and the end of the season.

“It would be better if we were 10 points clear of Arsenal but a lot of things can happen in the future. It will be close until the end of the season so we have to be focused. We have a lot of good games coming up.

“The most important thing is to win all of our games at home and to add good results away. We will see at the end of the season what our position will be.”

Lloris was partly at fault for Liverpool’s second goal as he rushed out of his box in an attempt to deal with Kyle Walker’s perilous backwards pass and failed to clear, gifting Stewart Downing a simple opportunity to equalise.

“Of course we can make mistakes over the course of the season, it can happen,” said Lloris. “We can also recall that we had the chance to score the third goal and finish the game more easily.

“That’s football, but I didn’t think we deserved to lose. We showed a great side of Tottenham. We played well and at 2-1 we had control of the game with chances to score the third.

“We made a mistake and then everything became possible and the game turned for Liverpool. It was just the last 15 to 20 minutes that let us down. We can learn from our mistakes and the most important thing is not to make the same errors in the next game.”

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