Alan Pardew blames himself for Spurs defeat

Newcastle United manager has accepted full responsibility for his side's 5-0 defeat at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.

Newcastle could have moved into the top four with a win, but Pardew believes he selected too many attacking players against an in-form Tottenham side.

"They're a very, very good side," Pardew told ESPN. "They've played as well against us as anyone and I'm sure with the firepower they've got, they've got a great chance of the title.

"They were very good and we had a problem today. We've got three of our first-choice midfield out and that was just too much.

"But a lot of the blame lays with me, we probably had too many offensive players on the pitch. The mood Tottenham came out in, we just got exposed time and again. I blame myself for that defeat."

Emmanuel Adebayor was in particularly rampant form for Spurs, notching up four assists and one goal.