Tottenham boss Roberto De Zerbi has admitted the fear of relegation is affecting his players after Sunday's 1-0 defeat at Sunderland.
Nordi Mukiele's deflected 61st-minute strike was enough to condemn Spurs to their 16th Premier League defeat of the season and means they will finish a weekend in the bottom three for the first time.
Spurs last suffered relegation in 1977 but they have not won a league game in 105 days and De Zerbi's arrival on a five-year contract was not enough to reverse their downward spiral in his first game in charge after another disappointing display at the Stadium of Light.
Asked if the prospect of relegation itself was the reason behind Tottenham's problems, De Zerbi said: "I think so. If you ask me, I am 46 years old. I have much [more] experience than the players and I am positive absolutely because I know them as guys and players and for that I am positive, not because we are Tottenham or because I have to do positive [things].
"They have the quality to win one game and the target now, the closest target is to win one game because if we win a game, we can see everything in a different way.
"You know me as a coach but one very important part for my style of coaching is the mental part, to transfer the confidence of the players, to give what they need in terms of mentality and confidence.
"For that, we could play better because during the week they play better because their heads are clean. During the game, it is different for sure. My work to help them, to show them what they do during the week during the game."
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Captain Cristian Romero was substituted in tears following a collision with goalkeeper Antonín Kinsky.
Brian Brobbey appeared to push Romero and his knee collided with Kinsky's face.
"We have to see in the next days," De Zerbi said. "I hope for us not an important problem because he is a crucial player for us. A good guy, top player, big personality and we need him to finish the season and to achieve our goal.
"Maybe yes [it is his knee] but I don't want to say anything because I don't know."
De Zerbi insisted he was still optimistic Spurs would avoid relegation.
"We are inside a difficult moment," he said. "My job is not now to change the style of play. We did two or three things with the ball, without the ball, but the crucial part is our mentality, to be positive. We have the quality to win a game when we win a game, we change everything."