(Reuters) - Tottenham Hotspur defender Toby Alderweireld said their 3-2 League Cup loss to West Ham United was a timely reality check ahead of Saturday's Premier League trip to Manchester United.
League strugglers West Ham came back from two goals down to beat Tottenham at Wembley Stadium to move into the quarter-finals on Wednesday.
Tottenham, who are level on 20 points with second-placed Manchester United, are looking to bounce back at Old Trafford and Belgium's Alderweireld warned his team mates not to be complacent.
"We were not flying or anything in our heads, but I think it's a good reality check," the 28-year-old said. "You still need to work very hard, even if you're 2-0 up, to get results.
"You have to keep the level up because if you drop it a little bit you see what happens. It's a good thing to learn.
"Of course we'd love to have won, but we don't have to be too dramatic about it. Next time we have to do better, and we focus on Saturday."
Spurs' task will be cut out for them on Saturday as Jose Mourinho's men have won their last five home league games, scoring 16 goals and keeping a clean sheet in each victory.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
