Ange’s formula for defeating Spurs is hard work, not trickery.

Ange Postecoglou has warned that no magic wand would restore Tottenham’s Premier League top-four ambitions following their 2-1 home defeat to Wolves.

Spurs had recovered to fourth place with a late-gasp victory against Brighton last weekend, but were surpassed on Saturday by Aston Villa, who triumphed at Fulham.

Joao Gomes gave Wolves a well-deserved lead after 42 minutes, and when Dejan Kulusevski equalized for Tottenham 34 seconds later, Gomes added his second following a great solo run by Pedro Neto with 63 minutes remaining.

It resulted in a painful setback for the hosts, who have now failed to score in the first half of their previous five home encounters.

“We will work hard, we’ve got two weeks to prepare for our next game (against Crystal Palace) and there’s no point feeling sorry for ourselves,” he said.

“You accept the punches and move on, regardless of what has happened in the past. You have to ensure that you are prepared for the next game.

“There are no tricks; it is hard effort. I am not a magician; I am a football manager. These guys have worked hard throughout the year.

“Like I said, we’ve got to this point which is pretty decent on the back of some hard work and that’s what we’ll keep doing.”

 

Spurs were missing first-choice full-backs Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie, and they struggled to break Wolves down in the first 45 minutes, with home goalkeeper

making superb saves to deny Nelson Semedo and Pablo Sarabia, respectively, before Gomes headed in a corner from Sarabia.

Tottenham came out fire after the interval, as they had done in recent triumphs over Brentford and Brighton, with Kulusevski equalizing after dribbling past Craig Dawson and poking beneath under Jose Sa

Postecoglou’s side was gaining momentum, but Wolves remained a threat on the break, and although Vicario denied Sarabia in the 56th minute, the visitors scored again six minutes later.

Yves Bissouma lost possession following a Spurs corner, and Neto ran the ball half the length of the pitch before cutting back and teeing up Gomes, who hammered home his second of the game.

Postecoglou threw on a slew of forward players, but Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, Toti, and Neto all squandered promising situations for Wolves, while Ben Davies headed wide deep into stoppage time for Tottenham, ensuring Gary O’Neil’s side completed the double over the north London club.