Spurs had the X factor and called the tune

We'd have all been far happier had we been in mid-table and relatively safe when our unbeaten run ended but you can't have everything.

The positives are that there can now be a renewed focus on our situation as a defeat gives a dose of realism where there was maybe a feeling that we were in a false position. That can only be a good thing and maybe the players and management can re-group this week to steel themselves for the crucial games ahead.

As for Saturday, I didn't walk away from the game too disheartened. Yes it was a defeat in a game we should be looking to win but in terms of effort and application the players gave their all yet again.

The difference this time was that we came up against a Spurs team who were in a similar predicament to ours in that they are near the bottom of the table and not winning many games. As has happened with us, when results are not going well, you have to get back to basics, work hard and be organised. This is what Tottenham did and the result for the most part of the game is that both teams cancelled each other out.

When a game goes like this it is generally the team with the X factor who come out on top. When I say this I don't mean four poncey public schoolboys singing Queen cover versions but the team with a player or players who can rise above the honest toil with a piece of magic.

We've got Steven Reid and Paul Dickov, Spurs have Jermaine Defoe and Robbie Keane. No disrespect to our lads who've been magnificent over the past month but the extra bit of class of the Spurs lads was always going to make the difference, especially in the last third.

Like I said earlier, the application was most certainly there for the duration and that's a real positive because the next two games are crucial to the season and are also against teams who have adopted the same work ethic to their play with varying degrees of success.

The Palace game is the big one of the two in my opinion though. After a horrendous start Iain Dowie has worked wonders to get Palace out of the bottom three after they'd looked doomed earlier. Like Sparky he's put great stock in fitness and organisation and it would appear that his players would run through brick walls for him.

This makes for a fascinating encounter this weekend and one that I feel we must look to win. Palace, like ourselves are coming off a home defeat and a win for us will see us leapfrog them in the table. Where Spurs had arguably the better players last week the same could be argued about us this coming Saturday. It's important that we show our superior class without falling short on the work-rate that has took us out of the mess of a couple of months ago.

Spurs had the X Factor and called the tune

The bursting of our bubble doesn't mean trouble

WELL I suppose the bubble had to burst sooner or later didn't it?

We'd have all been far happier had we been in mid-table and relatively safe when our unbeaten run ended but you can't have everything.

The positives are that there can now be a renewed focus on our situation as a defeat gives a dose of realism where there was maybe a feeling that we were in a false position.

That can only be a good thing and maybe the players and management can re-group this week to steel themselves for the crucial games ahead.

As for Saturday, I didn't walk away from the game too disheartened. Yes it was a defeat in a game we should be looking to win but in terms of effort and application the players gave their all yet again.

The difference this time was that we came up against a Spurs team who were in a similar predicament to ours in that they are near the bottom of the table and not winning many games.

As has happened with us, when results are not going well, you have to get back to basics, work hard and be organised.

This is what Tottenham did and the result for the most part of the game is that both teams cancelled each other out.

When a game goes like this it is generally the team with the X Factor who come out on top. When I say this I don't mean four poncey public schoolboys singing Queen covers but the team with a player or players who can rise above the honest toil with a piece of magic.

We've got Steven Reid and Paul Dickov, Spurs have Jermaine Defoe and Robbie Keane. No disrespect to our lads who've been magnificent over the past month, but the extra bit of class of the Spurs lads was always going to make the difference, especially in the last third.

Like I said earlier, the application was most certainly there for the duration and that's a real positive because the next two games are crucial to the season and are also against teams who have adopted the same work ethic to their play with varying degrees of success.

The Palace game is the big one of the two in my opinion though. After a horrendous start Iain Dowie has worked wonders to get Palace out of the bottom three after they'd looked doomed earlier.

Like Sparky, he's put great stock in fitness and organisation and it would appear that his players would run through brick walls for him.

This makes for a fascinating encounter this weekend and one that I feel we must look to win. Palace, like ourselves, are coming off a home defeat and a win for us will see us leapfrog them in the table.

Where Spurs had arguably the better players last week the same could be argued about us this coming Saturday. It's important that we show our superior class without falling short on the work-rate that has took us out of the mess of a couple of months ago.