Tottenham's Premier League dream is over, Pochettino declares after Burnley loss

Mauricio Pochettino says Tottenham's hopes of winning the Premier League title this season are over after they lost 2-1 to Burnley on Saturday.

After Burnley took the lead in the second half, Harry Kane struck on his return from injury to equalise for Spurs only for Ashley Barnes to fire in a winner for the Clarets with seven minutes left on the clock.

Spurs' slip means they could end up eight points behind the Premier League leaders by the end of the weekend, with Liverpool taking on Manchester United on Sunday.

Although they have 11 games left to play, Pochettino believes his side's chances of being crowned champions this year have been well and truly dashed by Burnley.

When asked if their fight for the title is over, Pochettino told Sky Sports: "Yes. We are very disappointed because there are 11 games, the gap can be bigger. Of course, there are a lot of games to play but today, in my mind, we had to win the three points to put pressure on them. We didn’t for different reasons, our mistakes and only because of us. We cannot blame anyone, only ourselves because we were not able to win.”

After full-time, Pochettino approached referee Mike Dean to express his anger and then appeared to walk away before he doubled back to remonstrate with the official further.

While the Argentine said he was not angry for any particular reason, he admitted that he made a mistake by confronting the referee instead of going down the tunnel.

"Nothing," was his response when asked what provoked him. "What happened on the pitch happened on the pitch. We made a few mistakes, conceded the two goals. Nothing to say but to congratulate Burnley. They fought a lot and deserved the win. We didn’t deserve the defeat but that is football. We have to keep going."

He added: "When you feel so disappointed and upset, maybe sometimes you make mistakes. We made mistakes on the pitch and I made a mistake after, I need to go straight away to my dressing room and wait there, drink some water and be relaxed. But what happened has happened.

"It’s so important to understand that it was an important game for us. I said before the game it would be decisive if we wanted to be a contender for the Premier League at the end of the season. The emotions, sometimes we find answers and excuses to try to justify the defeat. It's not normal how I behaved.

"Maybe it's because I knew before the game and after the game that it is going to be difficult to be a real contender if we lose.”