Newcastle 5-1 Tottenham: Mauricio Pochettino apologises after Spurs surrender second place in the league

Mauricio Pochettino accused his Tottenham Hotspur players of being on holiday after they capitulated at Newcastle United in the final game of the season to go from title challengers to finishing third in the league behind arch rivals Arsenal. The White Hart Lane outfit lost 5-1 to the already relegated Magpies when they just needed a point to finish as runners up to champions Leicester City.

The 2015/16 campaign, however, saw them record their best ever finish as well as qualifying directly for the group stages of the Champions League but their sudden drop in recent weeks, which culminated into a final day hammering, has left the Argentine manager disappointed and ashamed of his players.

Tottenham were expected to finish second and record their first ever finish above Arsenal in 20 years but they were unable to mount a comeback despite Newcastle going down to 10 men when the score stood at 2-1. The former Southampton manager has apologised to the fans, while hoping that his team learn from this experience, which has seen them draw two and lose as many since being dropped out of the title race at the start of May.

"First of all I apologise to our fans and our families. The level we (normally) compete and the way we competed today...it was a shame. We cannot explain what happened on the pitch. The feeling is bad, very bad," Pochettino told Tottenham's official site.

"In the first 45 minutes we were very bad in the way we played, without intensity, it was like we were on holiday and this is the result. It's a shame because we cannot finish in the way we finished."

"We cannot arrive in the last few games of the season and be the opposite of everything we have shown all season. A lot of good things have happened in this season but for now, you take away that good feeling. It's very difficult but we need to look forward, to fight, to be positive and to be strong," the Argentine coach added.