LONDON -- Mauricio Pochettino says Mousa Dembele will be a "big loss" to Tottenham Hotspur in the first four matches of the season but refused to blame the midfielder's suspension for the club's disastrous finish to last term.
Dembele was suspended for Spurs' final two matches of the season -- a 1-0 defeat to Southampton and a 5-1 humiliation at Newcastle on the final day -- after appearing to eye-gouge Chelsea's Diego Costa in the 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge on May 2.
With Dembele starting, Spurs lost just once in the Premier League last season -- the opening day defeat at Manchester United, where the Belgian played on the right wing -- but they lost five of nine games when he was absent.
Pochettino, however, believes the whole team was responsible for Spurs' finish and felt Dele Alli's suspension for the final three matches of the campaign was also significant.
"It's not fair to say that the team dropped in performance because Mousa wasn't in the team. It was about Dele Alli too. And the team," Pochettino told a news conference.
"Maybe we all dropped in the same way when we lost the last few games. I think it's not fair. It's true that Mousa was important for us last season. It's a big loss for us for the first few games. But, we need to deal with that."
Dembele was hit with a six-match retrospective ban for violent conduct and will be absent for Saturday's Premier League curtain-raiser at Everton as well as the matches against Crystal Palace, Liverpool and Stoke City.
In his absence, Pochettino is expected to hand a debut to summer signing Victor Wanyama at Goodison Park and the Argentine believes the £9 million addition from Southampton already knows what's expected of him.
"Victor is a player that knows us and how we work and the philosophy and it was easy for him to develop his quality, his skill in the team," Pochettino said. "From day one of preseason, he feels very comfortable and settled in the team. This is a good help for us."