Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho says his team have no one to blame but themselves for their latest reversal.
He watched his side lose 2-1 to fellow top-four rivals West Ham on Sunday.
Goals from Michail Antonio and Jesse Lingard pushed the Hammers into fourth spot.
Spurs, who netted through Lucan Moura, are now nine points off the Champions League places.
Speaking afterward, Mourinho expressed his frustration.
"I feel sad that the result should be a different one from what we played, especially in the second half," he said.
"I feel a little bit of déja vu because their defensive line was brilliant
"We started the game with a defensive mistake, we started the second half with another one and when you are punished by these goals, it's difficult."
Mourinho has been left frustrated by his side's repeated defensive lapses in recent weeks and months.
"I've been speaking about this for such a long time and it's not good to stay on the same page.
"But I believe every person who watched the game understood clearly the nature of the goals that we conceded."
Bale
One bright note from the game, however, could be the fact that Gareth Bale showed promise when introduced.
He cracked a sweetly-struck volley against the crossbar in the second half.
"I know his quality, I cannot say everything to you, I shouldn't, I believe as a coach I don't have to speak too much about the situation," Mourinho said on Bale's lack of starts.
"But with Gareth Bale completely fit and ready to play 90 minutes of every game of course he would."
With the gap between Spurs and the top four growing, Mourinho says the Europa League could take on an added significance.
"Of course it's very difficult to think about top four, the top four, five, six are getting points.
"It's going to be very hard. The Europa League is a great motivation, its not easy but its a great motivation because it can be a way to get to a Champions League spot and at the same time a trophy."
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