Peter Crouch claims Spurs are 'falling short' of top four due to a lack of quality within the squad

Peter Crouch emphasised the importance of a Tottenham rebuild following their disappointing result against Southampton on Wednesday evening.

Spurs lost 3-2 to Ralph Hasenhuttl's side after initially taking the lead in the first 18 minutes of the game.

Crouch felt Tottenham’s shortcoming was due to the lack of quality within the squad - claiming the North London side must use the summer transfer window to invest in players.

When asked whether the quality within the squad was causing problems for Conte, Crouch said he felt it could be. He said Tottenham's lack of depth was an 'issue' for the club.

Speaking after the game, Crouch told BT Sport: The squad has always been the issue. They still need to strengthen it.

'I think the manager over there would have liked to bring in more players. The new players haven’t performed yet.

'Other players they have aren’t performed either. And they haven’t been performing for a long time.

'Dembele hasn’t clicked for whatever reason. It was time for Dele Alli to move on. What I like about Conte is that he’s moved them on to make room for new players.'

Crouch went on to add: 'This is a club that’s built for champions league football but for me this squad is still just outside of that.

'They still need to strengthen their squad. I think if they spend the required money in the summer transfer window and have that man [Antonio Conte] as their manager, they will succeed. It won’t be a dead cert but I think it will be likely.'

Nevertheless, Crouch believes Tottenham have already improved under Conte. The BT pundit says the squad's character has changed under the Italian manager.

Crouch said: 'Tottenham’s character has always been questioned. Do they have a soft underbelly? What Conte has brought to this side has seen it improve.

I came down to a couple of games under Nuno and players weren’t even trying. They weren’t running. Tonight 's performance was a blip and hopefully, they can move on from it.'

Nevertheless, Crouch believes Conte will be disappointed with the result and says the Italian boss will have had stern words with the players.

Following Conte's post-match interview, Crouch said: 'I think he spoke very diplomatically. I think he might have spoken differently in the changing room as it was disappointing today.

'To concede three goals at home is not like a Conte side. I think given time and given money, he is the man to be able to do it. '