Tottenham Hotspur striker Peter Crouch has lamented his side’s late first half collapse against local rivals Arsenal in last week’s north London derby but made clear that his side still have the quality to push for the Champions League places. The White Hart Lane have never qualified for Europe’s most prestigious tournament, but having assembled a squad deemed worthy of the top competition, Crouch has challenged his teammates to match the high expectations.
Speaking to the Spurs official website, the England international made clear:
"It was a local derby and we're all so frustrated to have lost it. It was just down to goals that could have been avoided," he told his club's official website.
"For 42 minutes we matched them and the crowd was getting frustrated and if we'd manage to keep it to 0-0 at half-time it could have been a different game. But once they are 2-0 up it's so difficult to get back into the game.
"We now have to pick ourselves up. We've had a good season so far and we can't let that result knock us back down because we've got enough ability here to kick on again, starting against Sunderland.
"It's one defeat. Look at the other results [last weekend] – Man City drew, Liverpool lost – and we're still right up there in fifth.
"There are fixtures ahead that look winnable and if we're organised and make sure we do our jobs we can get those points to push us right back into the mix again."