Mauricio Pochettino: 'Tottenham Hotspur had to be more mature when ahead'

Mauricio Pochettino has slammed his Tottenham Hotspur players for lacking maturity and focus in Wednesday night's 3-2 loss to West Ham United in the EFL Cup.

Spurs raced into a two-goal half-time lead through Moussa Sissoko and Dele Alli at Wembley Stadium to seemingly leave them on the verge of the quarter-finals.

However, an Andre Ayew brace and an Angelo Ogbonna header after the restart knocked the shellshocked hosts out of the competition at the fourth-round stage.

"We scored two goals and it looked like the game was over but we showed a lack of aggression and concede three in 15 minutes," Pochettino told BBC Sport.

"That can't happen. When you are not on the same mental level it is difficult. The opponent had nothing to lose, they started to believe and we started to suffer.

"Maybe we thought the job was done. The second half was not the same and it is difficult to accept.

"After Real Madrid and Liverpool it was difficult to keep the motivation and concentration. We must be more mature at 2-0 up, that is disappointing. It is not good to lose, always, I am not happy."

Spurs return to action on Saturday as they take on Manchester United at Old Trafford in the Premier League.