LONDON -- Tottenham Hotspur captain Hugo Lloris has said that Friday's defeat at West Ham was the result of complacency and not being strong enough mentality, describing the performance at the London Stadium as "difficult to accept."
Spurs went down 1-0 to Manuel Lanzini's 65th-minute goal, missing the chance to close the gap to Chelsea to one point and surely ending their slim hopes of beating them to the title.
The visitors were uncharacteristically disjointed and blunt against a well-drilled West Ham side, who had a number of chances at the London Stadium.
Last month, Lloris told ESPN FC that "a winning mentality is already in place" at Tottenham but immediately after the game he rejected suggestions that fatigue was to blame and said his teammates had not gone the extra mile.
"At this stage of the season, it's the same for every team. We're all tired physically, mentally. The difference is mental. You have to cope on the pitch and get the result that you need. We were not capable of doing more," the goalkeeper said.
"The worst thing was the feeling at 0-0. We said, 'maybe it's enough, maybe we'll get the goal that we needed.' No. That's not the way that you need to think in that kind of context. You need to do more, more. To push to your limit. And today unfortunately we were not capable to do that.
"I'm very gutted, in the way we played, especially. It was not enough. It's difficult to accept at this moment of the season -- a very important [game] and especially in a derby game. We need to ask ourselves the right questions and try to understand what happened today."
Spurs went into the game on the back of nine straight league wins, culminating in Sunday's historic victory over Arsenal in the last-ever North London derby at White Hart Lane.
The winning run cut Chelsea's lead from 13 points in mid-March to four at kickoff, but Lloris said Spurs did not grasp the significance of Friday's game.
"We don't have to forget what we've done until today," he said. "This team pushed a lot and it demands a lot of energy. But in football, the things don't happen naturally. You need to get it. When you have a chance, and the opportunity is there, you need to get it. And today we were not capable of increasing the level collectively.
"Don't forget the context. Chelsea has been the leader for a while, they've been 10, 12 points ahead and we've tried step by step to come closer and closer. But one time an accident can happen. We knew before that game and we've known for a few weeks now that we're not allowed to slip. It happened today and unfortunately it cost a lot."