Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has stressed the difficulties of playing in the Europa League after his side succumbed to a 1-0 defeat at Gent on Thursday night.
The north Londoners struggled to find their rhythm against an energetic Gent side and were left to shoot from distance as they struggled to create clear goalscoring opportunities.
Gent looked threatening on the counter attack and they finally got their rewards in the second half when Jeremy Perbet scored the winning goal just before the hour mark at the Ghelamco Arena.
Spurs have all to do in the second leg of the Europa League tie at Wembley in order to progress to the last 16 of the competition, but the Pochettino is confident that the tie is still open.
The Tottenham boss admitted to the difficulties of playing in the Europa League and wants his side to find a way to win next week at Wembley, which has not been a happy hunting ground for Spurs this season in Europe.
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Pochettino was quoted as saying by the BBC: "I am disappointed yes because we had a lot of opportunities before we conceded, but the tie is open.
"It's true that maybe it was not a good performance, but we need to understand that it's always difficult to play in the Europa League.
"We need to find a way to go to Wembley and win the game and go to the next round."
Tottenham next have a trip to Craven Cottage this Sunday for their fifth round FA Cup clash against Fulham.
