Pochettino rues missed opportunity after Sunderland draw

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino admitted he was disappointed after his side dropped two points in their bid to eat into Premier League leaders Chelsea's lead with a 0-0 draw with struggling Sunderland on Tuesday.
Spurs leapfrogged London rivals Arsenal on goal-difference, nine points behind Chelsea – who were held 1-1 by Liverpool on Tuesday – after a bruising stalemate at struggling Sunderland.
Pochettino's side are unbeaten in the league since mid-December, an eight-match run that has seen them take 20 of a possible 24 points to maintain their hopes of securing at the very least a top four finish in May.
The Argentinian confessed to leaving Sunderland reflecting on what might have been at an opportunity lost.
"I'm disappointed, not frustrated," he said.
"We're on a good run at the moment, and it was a chance to cut the gap on Chelsea so when you drop two points like tonight then it's difficult not to feel bad about it."
'NOT AGGRESSIVE ENOUGH'

Danny Rose faces a scan on a knee injury that forced the England defender off before halftime in an uncompromising contest.
Sunderland midfielder Jack Rodwell was fortunate to escape with only a yellow card after a sickening challenge on Tottenham's Belgian midfielder Mousa Dembele.
Spurs return to action at the weekend when they host Middlesbrough on February 4.
"Danny will be assessed," said Pochettino.
"He's twisted his knee and we'll know more tomorrow. I don't know if it was a red card for Rodwell, it's difficult for referees to take a quick decision, and we need to support his decision.
"I thought we were poor in the first half and although we were better in the second, it wasn't enough to win the game.
"We weren't aggressive enough – that was the problem and we can't afford that.
"We all need to learn and try to fix it."
Relegation-threatened Sunderland failed with late transfer bids for Leicester City forward Leo Ulloa and Southampton striker Jay Rodriguez as David Moyes attempted unsuccessfully to fill the void left by the two-month injury absence of Nigerian international Victor Anichebe.
"I don't know if I'd use the word frustrating," said Moyes, who bought in Darron Gibson and Bryan Oviedo on Monday from one of his former clubs Everton.
"We were trying to add to the squad but we knew it was going to be a difficult few days.
"The injury to Victor made the situation a lot harder for us. Some players we couldn't get, and some clubs chose not to sell their players, so that's where we're at."
The Black Cats are without a win in eight games in all competitions, but were boosted by a welcome point to lift them off the bottom of the Premier League on goal difference ahead of Hull, who play Manchester United on Wednesday.
Despite moving off the foot of the table, victory for Swansea leaves them five points adrift of safety.
"We're aware of the way the other results went, but we can't do a lot about that," said Moyes.
"What we can do is to build on what we've got, get that team spirit and toughness about us and take pride in this performance because I thought we really stuck at it."

Klopp irked by Liverpool fans' impatience

Jurgen Klopp urged Liverpool's supporters to show more patience with his team after arguing with a fan during the 1-1 draw with Premier League leaders Chelsea.
The LIverpool manager Klopp could be seen exchanging words with a fan standing behind the dug-outs after a first-half back-pass towards goalkeeper Simon Mignolet was met by a collective groan around Anfield.
Klopp said his side were committed to building play from the back and asked supporters not to allow their impatience to get the better of them.
"If we don't play possession football tonight, it's ping-pong," Klopp told reporters after Tuesday's game.
"We played high pressure, so Chelsea does it smart, plays a few long balls. If we do the same, you have a stiff neck after the game.
"So we had to play football and that includes sometimes you play a back-pass. And then I hear in this moment (shouts): 'Why you play a back-pass?'
"Keep your nerve, please. It's still football. I have no problem with emotion. I have much more emotions than I should have. But it's in this moment (I think), 'What do you want?'
"It was only one guy, by the way, that I made eye contact with. Blue jacket."
The draw preserved the 10-point gap separating the sides, but meant Liverpool, who remain fourth, avoided four successive home defeats for the first time since 1923.
Chelsea took a 24th-minute lead when David Luiz's quickly taken free-kick caught out Mignolet as he tried to organise his defence, the ball cannoning in off his right-hand post.
Georginio Wijnaldum equalised with a 57th-minute header before Mignolet atoned by saving a penalty from Diego Costa, awarded for a foul on the Chelsea striker by Joel Matip.
Klopp celebrated Mignolet's penalty save by roaring in the face of fourth official Neil Swarbrick, but said the pair had later made peace.
ARSENAL NEXT FOR CHELSEA

"It was a foul before in my opinion on (Dejan) Lovren, that's what I was a little angry about," Klopp said.
"No one can beat us, was what I said (to Swarbrick). Obviously that's not true, but it felt for us like this in that moment.
"I was absolutely the wrong person to say it. I said: 'Sorry, I was a bit excited.' He said: 'No problem, I like your passion.'"
Liverpool's supporters felt Costa went down too easily after being caught by Matip, but Klopp said he had no qualms with the combative Chelsea striker.
"If I had played against Costa, I could never be friends – that's how it is – but when you have him in your team it's much more fun. He is a warrior," said Klopp.
"What (Antonio) Conte is doing with Chelsea is outstanding, but Chelsea without Costa this season?
"He is not the nicest guy on the pitch, but I saw no real big incident.
"If someone tells me it was a dive, maybe I will be angry tomorrow, but that would be wrong decision what, number 27? But it doesn't make it better."
Despite Costa's squandered penalty, Arsenal's loss to Watford and Tottenham Hotspur's goalless draw at struggling Sunderland made it a good night for Chelsea manager Antonio Conte.
"It is not easy to play against Liverpool in this moment after three defeats. It is not easy to play in this atmosphere," said Conte, whose side sit nine points clear ahead of Arsenal's visit on Saturday.
"I am very proud of my players for the personality they showed tonight. It is a good point, for sure.
"When you have a good chance with a penalty in the 76th minute then you think you could win and take three points, but Mignolet made a great save.
"Now it is important to recover well as we wasted a lot of energy because the game was intense and there were a lot of mistakes."

Wenger stumped after Watford sink Arsenal

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was at a loss to explain his side's appalling first-half display during their surprise 2-1 defeat by Watford at the Emirates Stadium.
His side mustered just three wayward efforts on goal in the opening 45 minutes as they allowed Watford to canter into a two-goal lead and damage further their tilt at the Premier League title.
"It was not good in the first half, especially in the first 20 minutes. We were beaten in the duels and Watford were sharper than us," Wenger admitted after Tuesday's match.
"Did we think subconsciously that we just had to turn up? I don't know. Honestly we prepared well for the game. Looking at the preparation, I have no basic regret.
"We knew that Watford would make it very physical and we prepared for that.
"You do not make 47 points after 23 games in the Premier League if you don't have physical power, but you have to switch it on 100 percent all of the time in the Premier League.
"We didn't start the way we wanted, but in the second half it was all us and let's be fair, we didn't deserve to lose this game.
"We hit the bar and (Watford goalkeeper Heurelho) Gomes made fantastic saves as well, so I still think that if you look at the chances, we were unlucky to lose.
"On top of that we were a bit unlucky with the free-kick for the first goal and then a deflected shot on top of that."
Younes Kaboul's deflected free-kick gave Watford a 10th-minute lead and Watford added a second three minutes later when Troy Deeney tucked in the rebound from Etienne Capoue's shot.
Arsenal, who replied through Alex Iwobi, travel to leaders Chelsea on Saturday and Wenger insisted his team will not suffer from a hangover from this result.
Nor was he comforted by draws for Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur, which limited the ground Arsenal lost.
TAYLOR TRIBUTE

"We want to respond against Chelsea and win the game, of course. But we first have to analyse why we didn't start well in this game," said the Frenchman, whose team now trail Chelsea by nine points.
"I'm responsible for the results of the team so I am very frustrated that we did not win the game. We are playing at home, we had a great opportunity and we had a start like we did.
"We have to learn from that and respond very quickly and in a very convincing way. What the other teams do doesn't matter."
Wenger confirmed that Welsh midfielder Aaron Ramsey had limped off with a calf strain.
For Watford manager Walter Mazzari, the result justified his decision to rest almost his entire first team for Sunday's FA Cup defeat by third-tier Millwall.
The Italian made a point of dedicating the victory to former Watford manager Graham Taylor, who passed away on January 12.
"My objective is for Watford to stay in the Premier League and to make my team grow game by game, week by week," said Mazzarri, whose side sit 13th.
"Of course the players need this victory to work better with me and also to believe that they can achieve great things.
"I was very happy at the end because recently we deserved to win some games, but didn't because luck was not on our side. We needed a big win, especially for the morale of the team.
"Of course I would have liked us to play the whole 90 minutes like we did in the first half.
"But we had at least four or five players coming back from injury and who hadn't played 90 minutes for a long time, so they weren't in condition to play the full 90 minutes at the same level.
"Today was a great game and I want to dedicate this victory to a great person in Graham Taylor."

Burnley splash out on Brady, Saints land Gabbiadini

Burnley splashed out a reported club record £13 million ($16 million) to sign Norwich winger Robbie Brady, while Southampton's swoop for Napoli forward Manolo Gabbiadini was one of the other notable deals on transfer deadline day.
Republic of Ireland star Brady agreed a three-and-a-half year deal and became Burnley's second signing of the day following their capture of Aston Villa midfielder Ashley Westwood for a reported £5 million ($6.2m).
Westwood, 26, signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with the option of a further year's extension.
With many Premier League clubs playing crucial fixtures on Tuesday, it was a significantly less busy deadline day than in previous years.
Southampton boss Claude Puel bolstered the League Cup finalists' attacking options with the signing of Italy international Gabbiadini.
The 25-year-old, who has six caps for his country, is believed to have cost the Saints an initial £14 million ($17.6m).
"I am very, very happy. Since I was a kid, one of my dreams was to perform in one of the biggest leagues in the world, so now that it's happening I can't wait to start playing," Gabbiadini said.
Saints director of football Les Reed added: "Manolo is another exciting addition to our attacking line-up ahead of the final months of the season.
"We have worked hard behind the scenes to agree a deal for him."
Earlier in the day, Southampton confirmed the loan signing of goalkeeper Mouez Hassen from Nice until the end of the season.
The 21-year-old is reunited with his former manager Puel and provides cover for first-choice Fraser Forster, with deputy Alex McCarthy out injured.
Struggling champions Leicester signed Mali defender Molla Wague on loan until the end of the season.
France-born Wague joins on loan from Udinese with the consent of his Spanish parent club Granada and the Foxes have an option to buy in the close-season.
"I'm delighted to be at Leicester City and I can't wait to get started. It's a wonderful club and I'm excited to have the chance to show what I can do in the Premier League with the champions," Wague said.
SAKHO TO PALACE

Swansea sealed a cash-plus-player deal for Aston Villa striker Jordan Ayew, with Wales defender Neil Taylor going in the opposite direction.
Ayew, on Ghana duty at the African Cup of Nations, has signed a contract with Swansea until 2020.
Villa are reported to have also banked £5 million in the deal.
Ayew's brother Andre played for Swansea before making a move to West Ham last year.
"He is a very good acquisition. I'm sure his brother has given him the inside track on the club," Swansea manager Paul Clement said.
Hull signed defender Andrea Ranocchia on loan from Inter Milan until the end of the season and took midfielder Alfred N'Diaye on loan from Villarreal, also until the end of the season, subject to international clearance.
N'Diaye returns to the Premier League having played for Sunderland between 2013 and 2014.
Crystal Palace boss Sam Allardyce bemoaned the decision to schedule matches on deadline day, but he did manage to sign Serbia midfielder Luka Milivojevic from Olympiakos for an undisclosed fee on a three-and-half-year contract.
Just as the window slammed shut, Allardyce also completed the signing of Liverpool's defender Mamadou Sakho on loan after the France international was frozen out by Reds boss Jurgen Klopp.
"Crystal Palace Football Club are pleased to announce the loan signing of Mamadou Sakho from Liverpool until the end of the season," said statement on the Palace official website.
Middlesbrough brought in Watford's Algeria midfielder Adlene Guedioura for an undisclosed fee on a two-and-a-half-year deal.
Bournemouth signed goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale from League One side Sheffield United for an undisclosed fee.
This month has seen the increasingly wealthy Chinese Super League flex its muscles, with Brazil international Oscar leaving Chelsea for Shanghai SIPG in a move worth £51 million move.
One of the few big deals of the day inevitably involvedmore Chinese spending as Watford striker Odion Ighalo become the latest player to be tempted by the lucrative league.
Ighalo joined Changchun Yatai for a fee reported to be around £20 million.

Master of surprise Luiz shows his worth at both ends

Mercurial David Luiz shrugged off a painful knee to conjure up a moment of cheeky magic at Anfield on Tuesday as he again showed why Chelsea re-signed the Brazilian last summer.
Luiz's disciplined defensive displays have underpinned Chelsea's Premier League title charge and he is playing with a level of consistency he did not achieve during his first spell at Stamford Bridge before moving to Paris St Germain.
He was a rock again at Anfield in Tuesday's 1-1 draw but also showed the more flamboyant side of his game when he surprised Liverpool's Simon Mignolet by taking a free kick while the goalkeeper was still organising his wall.
Luiz's quick thinking was praised by both Chelsea manager Antonio Conte and Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp and the Brazilian defender said he was pleased to have spotted the chance.
"Sometimes you need to try the surprise," Luiz said of his first league goal for the club since 2013.
"I'm not in the best position to take free kicks because my knee is hurting and I can't train every day, but in a game you need to see the opportunity."
Mignolet said he had not been aware referee Mark Clattenburg had blown the whistle to allow Luiz to take the free kick.
"I didn't hear the whistle and he hit it early," said the Belgian, who later saved a penalty from Diego Costa. "It is a difficult feeling. He hit it well but I'm disappointed."
The draw saw Liverpool avoid a fourth consecutive home defeat, which would have been their worst sequence at Anfield in 94 years. Klopp preferred to talk about his side's improved display rather than Mignolet's embarrassing moment.
"I know after not talking about the goalkeeper for one month probably you are ready to talk about him again," Klopp told a news conference. "I thought it was really smart from Luiz, it was really clever and really well done. We have to respect this.
"I am happy about the performance. I think it was obvious we played against an outstanding strong, experienced side. I thought we did well, from the first second we were in the game and were aggressive."
He added that Liverpool still had much to play for despite being out of the cup competitions and trailing Premier League leaders Chelsea by 10 points.
"If you put us in a time machine and brought us 15 matches before the end in fourth position ... Come on, let's play 15 games with all you have," the German said.