Conte concedes it is "difficult" to talk about Tottenham's top four hopes

Antonio Conte has endured a torrid week at the helm of Tottenham Hotspur and has lost three successive league games for the first time since 2009.

The first defeat came late last month when his Spurs side were on the wrong end of a 2-0 score-line when he made his first Premier League return to former side Chelsea.

Though there was an FA Cup victory over Brighton before January turned to February, their return to league action saw them toppled by Southampton in what was one of the most thrilling games of the season.

Spurs took the lead twice against the Saints only to end up losing the contest 3-2 after goals from Mohamed Elyounoussi and Che Adams in quick succession turned the tie on its head.

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The visit of Wolves on Sunday marked arguably the most important of the three games given it was their final game in hand over fellow top four rivals and north London neighbours Arsenal.

It got off to a disastrous start when Raul Jimenez pounced on some questionable goalkeeping from Hugo Lloris to lash home on the volley after just six minutes.

Things deteriorated further from Conte's perspective just over 10 minutes later when Leander Dendoncker prodded home from close range to double the visitors lead before there was even 18 minutes on the clock.

Bruno Lage's Wolves held on for the remaining 72 minutes to secure a vital three points that keeps them well in the hunt for an unlikely top four finish.

After the game, Conte reflected on the situation at Spurs and how it is difficult for him to even view finishing inside the top four as an achievement when he is used to winning titles.

"For me, it is very difficult to talk about fourth place because I am used to playing for other targets," explained the former Chelsea boss.

"The problem is that you cannot buy the winning mentality," the Italian said.

"You transfer it day by day and (you are) not sure that (it is) day by day, because there are players that are more open and they understand the process quickly, other players need more time to understand this.

"Winning mentality in my opinion means when you play, (thinking) 'I am ready to kill you and to live'. This is the difference in every duel, every second ball, every set-piece."

Conte went on to seemingly suggest that his current crop of Spurs are not as annoyed in the wake of defeats as they should be.

"When you show better desire than your opponent, when you understand the defeats have to hurt you a lot, not a little... This is not simple.

"The confidence and pressure is part of our job - the pressure for me, the pressure for the players."