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Tottenham boss Tim Sherwood accused his side of "lacking guts and character" in their 4-0 thrashing at Chelsea.

Samuel Eto'o and Eden Hazard scored for Jose Mourinho's team before substitute Demba Ba netted twice as Spurs lost for the second time in three league games.

"It hurts me and I won't forget about this when we hit the motorway, but some might," said 45-year-old Sherwood.

"There's a lack of character, too many of them are too nice to each other and you need to show a bit more guts."

The former England midfielder, who became Tottenham head coach in December following the sacking of Andre Villas-Boas, added: "You can't legislate for the capitulation - you can't have that."

Spurs fell behind to Eto'o's 56th-minute strike, which came after Jan Vertonghen's slip and aimless pass, before more mistakes - from Sandro and Kyle Walker - led to Chelsea's third and fourth goals at the death.

Chelsea's second came from Hazard's penalty after Younes Kaboul fouled Eto'o, a challenge that also saw the French defender sent off.

The defeat leaves Spurs fifth in the table, with an uphill task to reach the Champions League spots. They are four points behind fourth-placed Manchester City, who have three games in hand, and have also played more games than Liverpool and Arsenal, who are second and third respectively.

"The club talks about fourth - wake up," said Sherwood. "You won't finish in the top four if you don't beat top teams. You're miles away unless you beat the top teams."

Tottenham play the first leg of their last-16 Europa League tie at home to Portuguese side Benfica on Thursday and Sherwood said he expects an instant response from his side.

"We owe the fans a performance," he said. "We let them down again on the big occasion."