Tottenham Hotspur assistant Cristian Stellini has insisted that his side had no need to make earlier substitutions in their dampening 1-0 defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux.
Three days on from being dumped out of the FA Cup to Sheffield United, a much-changed Tottenham side failed to respond in the West Midlands, where Adama Traore struck the only goal of the game in the 82nd minute.
The Spaniard - who has often been linked with a move to Tottenham - crashed home a half-volley off the crossbar after Fraser Forster had palmed Raul Jimenez's effort into a dangerous area, giving Wolves a significant boost in their battle for Premier League survival.
Stellini oversaw operations on the touchline as Antonio Conte remained at home, but Spurs did not make a single change until the 77th minute, when soon-to-be free agent Lucas Moura replaced Dejan Kulusevski.
By that point, Wolves had already made all five of their substitutions, with match-winner Traore coming on at half time, and late introductions for Emerson Royal and Richarlison in the final 10 minutes proved too little too late for Tottenham.
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When questioned on a lack of earlier alterations in his post-game press conference, Stellini defended the decision to keep things as they were until the final 13 minutes, saying: "The team needed only five minutes to adapt.
"We were playing well, and the pace and we controlled the game. There wasn't reason to change. After we change because there was a reason to change because we needed more energy and to interrupt their pace in the game, but only one detail changed the story of the game.
"They have to find this solution during every game but today was not the lucky day that you shot on target the first and you score. We needed maybe more chances but when you have five, you need to score one."
Tottenham were not without their opportunities at Molineux - Son Heung-min and the bright Pedro Porro both hit the crossbar - but Stellini conceded that his side needed to be 'nastier' in attack to break down the Jose Sa-marshalled backline.
"I think the performance was good, particularly in the first half when we controlled the game in every aspect. We had some chances to score. We were not so nasty in the way to score," the Spurs assistant added.
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"When you have a chance like this, you have to kill the game. The game was under control but then in second half we struggled a bit at the start but after 10 minutes we adapted to the situation and we controlled the game.
"I think the mentality today was good. It is a lesson we have to learn because when you start the game and you control the game, you have to kill the game. This is a lesson we have to learn today."
Despite travelling back to North London with glum faces, Tottenham will remain fourth in the Premier League table at the close of play this weekend, and Conte will make his second return from gallbladder surgery on Sunday.
Speaking on his superior's return, Stellini added: "Antonio will be a massive boost for us from tomorrow until the end of the season. It is important that Antonio is back.
"We want to have him back with a different result but the team show to Antonio it is alive. They want to win, they want to control the game, they want to dominate the game and this is important I think."
Conte's first game back on the touchline will be Wednesday's Champions League last-16 second leg against AC Milan, where Spurs must turn around a 1-0 deficit from the first meeting at San Siro on February 14 to stand a chance of advancing to the quarter-finals.
Ben Knapton
