14:43

The Tottenham manager, Mauricio Pochettino, has said his side were at their best when they were playing every few days and suffered a dip that left them feeling “disconnected” when they had a week-long break.

Pochettino said: “Before the Burnley game, we were playing every two or three days and then it was a week when we didn’t play and it was like we disconnected. Everyone believed we needed to breathe and rest but I think it [the week-long break] affected us a lot in our brain – something that we disconnect.

“It is not about the energy, the legs, it is about the mental connection in the team and maybe we were affected by that disconnection. Now it makes it more difficult to connect again and perform in the way we want to perform. That is our job, that is in our capacity to try and reconnect.”

The Spurs manager, whose side face Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday, hopes that the impending move into the new stadium will help his players to avoid a similar feeling of detachment in the battle to finish in the top four.

“The motivation is massive because we have unbelievable games ahead. We are going to move into the best stadium in the world and everyone deserves for us to be in our best and compete and win.”