Spurs’ furious boss admitted seeing his feeble stars lose a first league game against Watford for 31 years was ‘painful’ and claimed the first half was like a ‘friendly’.
The visitors went ahead but managed just two shots on target all day, as they wilted under a second-half set-piece barrage.
Victory meant Watford maintained their own 100 per cent record and leapfrogged Spurs up into third in the table.
Pochettino said: “The reality is, if you wanted to be a contender today you should win — and win easy because everything was ready for us to win the game.
“It’s very painful. I was very disappointed and my message was you need to go there like a lion.
“OK we play football. But be aggressive. In the second half we score then many things happen.
“It’s about energy and communication. It’s about being strong and showing character and mentality.
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“So painful. Often you play like this and win. It’s a very good wake-up call for everyone to say, ‘Come on, we need to compete’.
“We need to show we are contenders by winning. The only way to win is to give your best.”
Tottenham have yet to land a trophy in the four years since Pochettino took charge — even though they are regarded as one of the best teams in England and Europe.
A bizarre own goal when Lucas Moura’s cross went in off Abdoulaye Doucoure’s chest served up a lucky break for Spurs on 53 minutes.
But with first-choice keeper Hugo Lloris missing with a thigh injury, Spurs were unusually feeble at the back.
Watford skipper Troy Deeney headed them level then Craig Cathcart snatched the winner in a similar set-piece style.
Pochettino said: “We controlled the first half, Watford were poor.
“OK we scored and when you score you should keep going but we start to change and played long balls and conceded.
“If you want to be a contender you cannot do this. It is good to feel the pain. It will help us to be better in the future.”
Hornets’ striker Deeney said: “This gives us confidence. Four wins is huge but a lot of people are saying we beat lesser teams.
“So maybe this result can give us a little bit more respect.”
Deeney also reckoned Spurs could not handle Watford’s style. He said: “We cause problems, we’re big lumps, people don’t like it, then we limited their chances.”
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