Mauricio Pochettino "relieved" after late leveller at Newport County

Mauricio Pochettino has admitted to being 'massively relieved' after Tottenham Hotspur avoided a major FA Cup upset by salvaging a 1-1 draw at Newport County.

A Spurs side showing five changes from their last outing were a goal down at the break following a poor first-half display, leaving them on the brink of a shock exit.

Leading marksman Harry Kane popped up inside the final 10 minutes at Rodney Parade to level the scores, though, giving Tottenham a second chance to get the job done on home soil in a little over a week's time.

Pochettino questioned the motivation of his players at full time after being left unhappy by what he witnessed in South Wales.

"I'm a little bit relieved - well a lot," he told reporters at his post-match presser. "We were very disappointed with the first half, in the last half hour we created some chances and deserved the draw.

"We lost every challenge in the first half, found it difficult to play forward and always played safe. The team didn't really show that they wanted to go through to the next round.

"If we want to go to the next step we need to be strong. That is the competition. We showed the ambition and the decision to play. We want to go further and try to fight to win the competition. We need to be more motivated though."

Tottenham have now been held to a 1-1 draw in three of their last five outings in all competitions.