Tottenham Hotspur head coach Mauricio Pochettino has suggested that the club's disrupted pre-season could be the reason behind their slow start to fixtures this season.
Spurs' earliest goal this season has come in the 41st minute, while they have earned the majority of their points as a result of their second-half performances.
Pochettino has questioned whether their mixed performances are due to a pre-season where a number of players enjoyed an extended break after competing in Euro 2016 during the summer.
The Argentine is quoted by the Daily Mail as saying: "It was difficult because of the Euros, they come late, we were in Australia and some players started to play with only 10 days' or 14 days' training.
"It is difficult to understand why in every game, we have some period in the first half that is difficult to get the pace of the game and to manage and handle the game like we normally used to do. Then in the second half, it is like we need that from the manager and the staff to wake up and say, 'This is the reality', we need to change and then say, 'Now yes, we are going to do our job'.
"Maybe it is because the pre-season was difficult and all that happened in the summer, maybe now we are in a process to settle all of the pieces."
Spurs play host to Sunderland on Sunday as they look to extend their unbeaten start to the Premier League season to five games.
Darren Plant
