NEWCASTLE, United Kingdom, Apr 23 – Hugo Lloris apologised to Tottenham fans after his side’s humiliating 6-1 defeat against top-four rivals Newcastle on Sunday.
Tottenham goalkeeper Lloris conceded five goals in the 21 minutes at St James’ Park as the north Londoners collapsed to their heaviest loss of a turbulent season.
The defeat leaves fifth-placed Tottenham’s hopes of a qualifying for the Champions League via a top-four finish in tatters.
They are six points behind fourth-placed Manchester United, who have two games in hand on Cristian Stellini’s team.
Many of Tottenham’s chastened fans fled St James’ Park well before half-time.
“It was very embarrassing. The first thing is we should apologise to the fans who travelled and who watched the game,” Lloris told Sky Sports.
“We did not show a good face today. We could not match the performance of the Newcastle players, we were late in all aspects of the game.
“We completely missed the first part of the game. The second half is another story, but it is really painful today.”
Tottenham captain Lloris was replaced by Fraser Forster at half-time due to an injury, sparing him any more embarrassment.
Forster conceded once after the break and French World Cup winner Lloris admitted Tottenham had played without pride.
“We could not fight. It is difficult to analyse the performance, but the first thing was a lack of pride,” he said.
“You can get punched once or twice and you concede, but on the pitch was something strange like we could not even react to bounce back into the game.
“We can try to find excuses, but we missed the fight. If you go on the pitch without the desire to win the battle, it makes things very hard. It was a bit of a mess.”
Tottenham have suffered a woeful season, with boss Antonio Conte departing in March after a furious rant at his “selfish” players and the culture of a club without a major trophy since 2008.
“We cannot hide behind the club’s problems. We are professionals and every time we go on the pitch we try to deliver our best. Today it was too much slack in all the aspects,” Lloris said.
“It is just a different level between Newcastle and Tottenham. Now there are two other difficult games in the week (against Manchester United and Liverpool). We have to bounce back.”
