Tottenham and Southampton managers concede defeat in top four race

Mauricio Pochettino fears Tottenham Hotspur could finish outside the top four and miss out on next season's Champions League.

The north London club settled for a goalless draw against Burnley at Turf Moor on Sunday. Even star striker Harry Kane struggled as he could not showcase his goal scoring talent against Sean Dyche's side.

Liverpool suffered a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Arsenal in the last fixture. Tottenham are now sixth in the league table with 54 points from 31 games, level on points with the Merseyside club, who are in the fifth spot. They are one point ahead of sixth placed Southampton.

Both clubs trail fourth place Manchester City by seven points, who have a game in hand. A win over Crystal Palace for the Premier League champions will see them go second in the table and also two points ahead of Manchester United, who will slip to fourth place.

"It is difficult but we have seven games, we will try. It is true that it is not easy. This game was a very tough game and we need to try to win the most points possible in the next seven games," Pochettino explained.

"The way Burnley play it is difficult, because always there is long balls into the box. They are a very aggressive team and run a lot. It is difficult to find space to play."

"We played better in the second half and we made some chances but it was not enough to score. Three weeks ago Manchester City lost here. It is not an excuse but it is a very, very difficult team," he added.

Meanwhile, Southampton suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Everton at Goodison Park over the weekend. The Saints manager Ronald Koeman has accepted defeat in helping the South Coast club finish in the top four after the latest result.

"It is not realistic at this moment to think of the first four positions in the table. It is more realistic to think about the Europa League, but the Europa League for us is like the Champions League for Arsenal and Manchester United," Koeman said.

"We are very disappointed about the result today. It was a little bit more difficult for us to create chances."

"It is more difficult because of how opponents are defending and playing against Southampton. Everton played at home and defended the result, and that is out of respect," the Southampton manager stressed.

Pochettino and Koeman's comments, along with Liverpool's defeat will come as a massive boost for Arsenal and United, who are fighting to finish the season in top four with just seven more games remaining this season.