Mauricio Pochettino has admitted that his side are lacking in quality in the final third.
Tottenham were unable to break down Colchester United in their Carabao Cup third round defeat, leading them to lose 4-3 on penalties.
Spurs had 75% possession in the clash with the League Two side, but lacked the conviction to turn their dominance into goals.
While many will criticise the mentality of his players, Pochettino said that the defeat was not down to lack of effort, but more a lack of cutting edge in attack.
Speaking after the game , he said: "Today wasn’t a problem with energy, we ran a lot, we cannot talk about the effort or commitment. Today was, I don’t like to talk this way, when you are nearly all perfect but you don’t score it’s because something you miss in the last third.
"It is not about movement or to try, it’s about to be fresh and the quality and maybe we missed a little bit of this quality to score in the last third. But I am happy. And the way we are going to change the dynamic is by working the way we worked today.
"The effort was massive. That is the beauty of the cups, it can always happen. Crystal Palace were beaten in their own stadium on penalties and now the same. That’s the universe that is against us today."
