Antonio Conte insisted it will take time to turn Tottenham into a trophy-winning side following their Champions League exit.
Spurs drew 0-0 at home to AC Milan in a dour second leg and went out of the competition 1-0 on aggregate.
It came after a dismal FA Cup exit at the hands of Championship team Sheffield United.
Recent results have increased speculation that boss Conte could be on his way out of the club.
Speaking at his post-match press conference, Conte said: “To win you have to build and you need time.
“We are working to try to improve, to go step-by-step, but if someone thinks in one year you start to win, that is difficult.
“It’s not easy. The only way is to continue to work. We have to build and have patience.
“I’ve always said the same things; that we need to have time and patience because in this moment we don’t have a solid foundation to be competitive to win to win, in my opinion.”
Meanwhile, Glenn Hoddle was hugely critical of Tottenham’s performance.
Speaking on BT Sport, former Tottenham player and manager Hoddle pulled no punches in his assessment.
“As a collective, they just weren’t at it tonight at all,” he said.
“It’s very disappointing – and that is a pattern of Tottenham. It’s not a one-off, it’s time and time again we’ve seen them play like this.
“When they play well, it’s not back-to-back performances they can put together, this team.
“The main thing for me is that there’s just no creativity there.”
Former Spurs striker Peter Crouch was also critical of the display.
Crouch said: “That Milan team won’t believe how easy that has been tonight.
“For what’s at stake, and how easy it was, they won’t believe it.”
Both Hoddle and Crouch were also critical of manager Antonio Conte’s conservative approach.
Hoddle felt the lack of control in midfield was a major factor in the result.
“Midfield is the problem,” he said. “You’ve got to play with three in there. Sometimes you’ve got to change the tactics.”
And Crouch said: “With a quarter-final at stake, come out and go at them – give the crowd something to cheer.
“I’ve never seen the crowd so flat and that was because of the performance.
“It has to be coming from the manager. It’s just not good enough.”