Jamie O'Hara has identified five 'shocking' players who he says failed Tottenham in their defeat to Sunderland. Nordi Mukiele's strike secured victory for the Black Cats at the Stadium of Light on Sunday afternoon, dealing a blow to Roberto De Zerbi's battle to preserve the Spurs' Premier League status.

Tottenham missed the opportunity to escape the bottom three after West Ham's triumph over Wolves on Friday night. The Hammers sit just two points above their London rivals, who are in the relegation zone, with six matches remaining this season. Speaking on Sky Sports following the final whistle, O'Hara insisted the Spurs players must shoulder responsibility, with De Zerbi unable to 'produce miracles'. The former Lilywhites midfielder said: "Absolutely shocking.

"Didn't deserve anything from the game. Sunderland took control and created good opportunities. [Antonin] Kinsky made some really good saves, but it's a terrible goal to concede."

O'Hara added: "It sums up Spurs this season. They did absolutely nothing, offered nothing. Non-existent performances all over the park. Conor Gallagher, shocking. [Randal] Kolo Muani, shocking. [Dominic] Solanke, shocking. Richarlison, shocking. [Destiny] Udogie, shocking.

"You can't carry six players when you are fighting relegation! You have to fight and put in a performance. Absolutely woeful again. I can't believe how bad this team have got.

"De Zerbi is a good manager but he can't produce miracles; the players have to produce for him. Nowhere near good enough. The quality on the pitch is non-existent.

"These players have fallen so far off from where they think they are as footballers. I am not seeing anything from this team that warrants staying in the Premier League.

"There is nothing that says they can stay up. There isn't enough fight, quality or passion. For the majority of the game, I couldn't believe what I was watching. These players are nowhere near it."

Addressing the media at the Stadium of Light, De Zerbi offered his thoughts on the result. The Italian said: "Sorry because we didn't deserve to lose the game. We played a good game, maybe not enough to win but we were unlucky in a few situations in the first half.

"I cannot say anything to players because they gave their best in terms of attitude and spirit. We can play better for sure and you can feel better. We have to work on that.

"My work is not so much on the pitch because they are good guys and I am sorry for them. I want to give them confidence in what they need. Tactically, we played a good first half.

"With the ball and without the ball. We don't have confidence to play great football but we did what we have been working on this week. The players can play better if they are feeling confident."

Addressing how he intends to lift morale within the squad, De Zerbi said: "I can be a big brother, father, they don't need a coach. They don't need to improve football. They can play better and they will play better once we reach a different level of confidence."

Looking ahead to the challenge that awaits him, he added: "Absolutely, I'm sure if we are able to win a game then everything will change."