Tottenham Hotspur head coach Mauricio Pochettino has admitted that his team cannot afford to drop more points against Stoke City and Brighton & Hove Albion.

A run of five points from six top-flight fixture has left Spurs off the pace in the Premier League table, with a four-point gap separating the North London outfit and fourth-placed Liverpool.

Spurs host Stoke at Wembley Stadium on Saturday afternoon, and Pochettino has said that his players cannot afford to show any complacency against the Potters.

The 45-year-old told reporters: "Yes, for everyone it's must win, not only for us. We need to show respect to the opponent and know that before to take the three points you must perform as well, you need to be better than the opponent and deserve to win.

"Against West Brom, Leicester and Arsenal we deserved more, but in the end we lost two games and drew, and we deserved more against Watford."

Spurs warmed up for the this weekend's match with a 3-0 victory over APOEL in the Champions League.