Mauricio Pochettino refused to blame Harry Kane's absence for Tottenham's 1-0 defeat at Manchester United on Saturday and says the visitors deserved to draw.
Substitute Anthony Martial scored an 81st-minute winner to condemn Spurs to a fourth straight defeat at Old Trafford without scoring.
Kane missed the match with a hamstring strain and without the Premier League top scorer, Pochettino's team fashioned just one clear chance, only for Dele Alli to miss from close range.
The defeat is Spurs' first on the road this season but, asked if they had missed Kane, Pochettino told Sky Sports: "If Dele Alli scored before we conceded, maybe now the question would be different.
"It's always about the result in football. Of course, you're always going to miss your main striker and Kane is one of the best strikers. But it's not fair to talk about Kane and we need to be fair with everyone. If Alli scored, be sure we'd be talking in a different way. If you analyse the game, it was even but the result was different.
"It was the best chance. It was the chance for 1-0 up but instead 1-0 down. Now, we move on."
And asked if Kane would be fit for Wednesday's Champions League match against Real Madrid at Wembley, Pochettino told a postmatch news conference: "We'll see in the next few days and take a decision."
United's goal came when David De Gea's goal-kick was flicked into Martial's path by Romelu Lukaku, catching both Eric Dier and Jan Vertonghen flat-footed in the Spurs defence.
Pochettino added: "I think it was a good game, it was a shame to lose. It was even -- chances for one and the other side. It was a tough game, I think we deserved the draw. The effort was fantastic from our players, I feel good, proud of the effort. We were unlucky to concede in last 10 minutes but it was our mistake to concede. The team fought a lot and deserved more.
"We contained United very well. The game was under control, we didn't concede many chances, only a short period in the second half when we concede a few actions. It was always under control. We had the ball, we created a little bit more. That's why I say it was even. Not too many shots for them, I think it was the same shots on target. In this type of game, if you make a mistake, you pay and lose.
"Sometimes this happens in football. It's not now to blame someone, it's collective, the team. We conceded and we must accept it and move on. We can't change the result.
"We conceded, we feel disappointed, the players too. Until that moment, the game was more on our side than theirs. It's a shame, very disappointed at the situation. Now we move on, on Wednesday we have another game. We cannot think too much, only try to help and lift them."