Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino fears burnout after Hammers blow but orders team to respond in north London derby

Mauricio Pochettino fears Tottenham’s hectic schedule is catching up with his team.

Having missed out on the chance to go top of the Premier League after losing to West Ham in their third game in seven days, the Argentine is concerned his squad are leg-weary.

He said: ‘The Premier League is the most competitive league in the world, and you can see that every week. For different reasons, it’s open and competitive and not easy to play every week. We are near the top and have come through a very busy period, playing Europa League, FA Cup and now Premier League. Always it’s tough. But it’s not about complaining. No excuses.

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino (right) endured a frustrating evening at West Ham on Wednesday

The West Ham squad celebrate scoring after just seven minutes against London rivals Tottenham 

Pochettino (centre) and West Ham's Slaven Bilic (right) contest a decision with fourth official Mike Dean

Tottenham are just three points behind Leicester

‘We were poor in the first half. We didn’t suffer from nerves. We made some mistakes that normally we don’t make. It was the same in the first 20 minutes against Swansea on Sunday, and today (Wednesday) we started not so good. West Ham played better than us.’

But he ordered his side to bounce back in Saturday’s huge North London derby against Arsenal, adding: ‘We need to be positive. Why not? The players are very disappointed but there are no easy games.’

Hammers boss Slaven Bilic praised his side’s ‘magnificent’ performance, but insisted they are not dreaming of Champions League qualification.

Though victory puts them within a point of fourth place, Bilic said: ‘We are really not thinking about that and we shouldn’t be thinking about it. OK, the gap is not big between us and Manchester United and City. Unfortunately, it’s also not big between us and seventh, eighth, ninth or 10th. There are still many games to go.’

He added: ‘It could have been more (goals) against a very good Tottenham. We were magnificent and I congratulate my players.’

One blow for the Hammers was a hamstring injury which will rule James Collins out for at least three weeks.

England and Tottenham striker Harry Kane struggled to make an impact up front on Wednesday night

James Collins (left) had to leave the field with a hamstring injury and will be out for at least three weeks

Dele Alli (left), Ryan Mason (centre) and Eric Dier surround the linesman after a controversial decision