Pochettino wants end to Wembley hoodoo talk

Mauricio Pochettino says he is not worried that Tottenham's Wembley woes will derail their Premier League title bid.

Tottenham have now failed to win any of their three league games at their new home following yesterday morning's (Singapore time) goalless draw with Swansea.

That followed on from a 2-1 defeat by Chelsea before being held by Burnley.

Their home record at White Hart Lane, which is undergoing a rebuilding programme, was the foundation for last season's challenge as they pushed Chelsea all the way.

They were unbeaten at home in the league and took 18 points out of 18 against the league's bottom six.

It could prove a different story this time around but, Pochettino, the Tottenham manager, said: "It's frustrating and we need to do better.

"Everyone needs to be clinical.

"We need to make Wembley our home.

"But we need to move on from this talk of a hoodoo.

"Clubs are different and we are different. We have a new squad, a different dynamic which we need to create to win games not just at Wembley but away. I'm not worried.

"We could spend one season talking about that and, maybe at the end, then you can see it or everyone can say, 'Yes, Wembley was a problem'.

"Last season at White Hart Lane was fantastic, but that's now history. We are here.

"We can't compare this season with other seasons."

Tottenham were looking to score for the 30th consecutive home game and had 26 attempts at goal, but found Swansea a tough nut to crack.

New Tottenham signing Serge Aurier could have earned a late penalty when he went down under the slightest of clips from Jordan Ayew, while Martin Olsson was twice fortunate not to concede a spot-kick, once after blocking Toby Alderweireld and then for touching a loose ball with his hand.

Pochettino was particularly disappointed with referee Mike Dean's decision not to award Aurier the foul.

"On the decision, I have full respect for the referee," Pochettino said.

"Only I was disappointed with Mike (Dean) because he tried to justify the last decision in the action that Aurier touched the ball with his chest.

"I think it was a penalty. He tried to justify by telling the players it was handball, it was handball, it was handball, shouting.

"When you take a decision as a referee, you stay calm and say it was handball. You don't try to justify the decision."

Swansea are destined for a relegation fight so Paul Clement admitted the precious point will go a long way to sealing their top-flight status come next May.

"We had to defend well and we did," said manager Clement.

"We were complacent in our last game against Newcastle and I was proud of the physical effort they put in and strong mentality.

"They were waiting for a mistake so we had to stay focused. We want that to continue now. As a collective group, we were very good.

"You want to be difficult to break down and then get a counter-attack or a set-play.

"I'm confident in this group that if they execute what they did in training then they can do well." - WIRE SERVICES