Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino admitted the distraction of the European transfer window may have unsettled his players after a 1-0 defeat against Newcastle.
Spurs dominated possession but largely struggled to break down the resilient Magpies backline as they succumbed to their first defeat of the season.
Pochettino had opted to start with Christian Eriksen and Jan Vertonghen on the bench amid uncertainty over their futures, with both players in the final year of their contracts.
The Argentine coach suggested the ongoing dealings off the pitch had affected his players and revealed his eagerness for the window to close.
"We are waiting to see what happens. It's not an easy situation," he told Sky Sports.
"This season we have a lot of individual circumstances and we need to wait. We know this can unsettle the group but we know in 10 days it will finish and things will be clear."
Asked specifically about Eriksen's future, Pochettino provided a prickly response: "I don't know. Why do you ask me? Do you know something... it is so difficult, the situation."
Pochettino was under no illusions about his side's below-par display and identified where his players fell short as Newcastle's compact defence held firm.
"I don't want to be critical with the team," he added. "We didn't perform as we expect. It was a very cheap goal, like against Aston Villa.
"We didn't create - we had possession but we didn't create enough chances. We didn't find the capacity to break down their defensive line. They were very organised and defended deep.
"I'm very disappointed with the performance and with the result.
"Sometimes it's not about possession - it's about individual actions and today we didn't show the type of quality we needed."
