Pardew's Palace Show Tottenham a Top-4 Place Will Not Come Easy

Tottenham Hotspur had hoped to finish the weekend in the Premier League top four. Crystal Palace, managed for the first time in league play by Alan Pardew, beat them 2-1 to deny their London rivals the possibility.

Off the back of the expectation-raising 5-3 win over first-place Chelsea in their last league match, the disappointment of Tottenham head coach Mauricio Pochettino and their goalscorer Harry Kane was obvious.

During his pre-match press conference on Friday, Pochettino was asked if he thought his side could finish the season fourth. The eventual response to the complicatedly worded question, via assistant head coach and part-time translator Jesus Perez, was Spurs could even still finish as high as third.

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Regardless of the result of Sunday's fixture between Manchester United and Southampton—third and fourth, respectively, as of Saturday—the north Londoners will still be in reach of it. After the high of beating Chelsea on New Year's Day, the Palace loss is a reminder of how difficult finishing in the Champions League places will be.

Their own spirits raised by the appointment of former Eagles player Pardew, the perennially loud and extra-motivated Selhurst Park faithful attempted to will their team on from the first whistle. In the midst of an intimidating atmosphere and a feel-good comeback story in waiting, Spurs more than held their own for an hour.

Guided by the inquisitive Christian Eriksen, the Lilywhites attack earnestly sought to find their way through. The Dane almost did after 22 minutes when he shot just wide from a Kyle Walker cross.

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Palace threatened, too. Glenn Murray probably should have scored after he went unnoticed by Danny Rose and Jan Vertonghen, only to be denied by Hugo Lloris' leg.

Typified by a competitive, if at times sloppy midfield battle, it was a game still open to interpretation by either side as the second-half commenced.

Kane's opener put Spurs in prime position to do so. Instead, they failed to capitalise, and via an arguably inconclusive penalty decision against them and a Wilfried Zaha-inspired winner by Jason Puncheon, they ended up on the losing side.

The absence of in-form youthful midfielders Nabil Bentaleb and Ryan Mason, post-Christmas tiredness, post-goal complacency, questionable refereeing decisions and/or Palace wanting it that much more—the myriad reasons behind the turnover will be discussed and pondered. Of the more immediate takeaways from Spurs' first domestic loss in over a month is the reiteration they must be prepared for more of the same in the weeks to come.

With an FA Cup third round replay and two-legged Capital One Cup semi-final to contend with, Pochettino's men have six games before January is out. For a squad suffering from a few niggles and a workload more intense than most in the Premier League, it will test weary legs and minds further.

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In the visit of Sunderland and the trip to West Bromwich Albion, Spurs could also face more Palace-like gusto from teams similarly battling to avoid relegation. On general form and standing, they are matches the north London club should win. But on paper, they should have beaten Palace.

None of this is especially revelatory. However, for a side just beginning to think of loftier goals in more serious terms again, Pochettino would do well to remind his squad what they must overcome to achieve them.

Tottenham showed over the end of 2014 they are a talented team with reason to be ambitious. They must quickly regroup from this setback and prove it.

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained firsthand.