LONDON -- Mousa Dembele has said Tottenham's FA Cup scare against Wycombe Wanderers was a sign that they need to start games better.
Spurs reached the fifth round with a last-gasp 4-3 win against the League Two side on Saturday but trailed 2-0 at half-time -- the 13th game this season in which they have conceded first.
The Londoners will be favourites to win their next two games, at Sunderland and at home to Middlesbrough, but Dembele said they had to avoid being caught cold again.
"We were warned and hopefully in the next game we will start much better," the midfielder told reporters at White Hart Lane on Saturday.
"We didn't start very concentrated. I think they worked hard, and we have to respect them. I'm glad we won because it would have been a scandal [to have been beaten].
"It's not easy. They come here, they're very motivated and for us as well it's a bit different.
"It's not easy to play these kind of teams, so that's why we have to respect them as well for what they did. Hopefully in the next game, or whenever, we'll start much better."
Looking ahead to Tuesday's game against bottom club Sunderland, Dembele said: "It's totally different.
"Every team in the Premier League has a lot of quality in their team so we're going to respect them from the beginning, of course.
"We've been playing well in the last few games. We have a positive feeling but it's not easy to play away from home, of course, so we will be 100 percent motivated."
Dembele has been struggling with a persistent foot problem this season but said: "I feel good. It's OK -- sometimes you have a little bit of pain but it's OK now.
Asked whether he could play in three games in a week, Dembele said: "Yeah, I think so."