Southampton boss Mauricio Pellegrino said he was not concerned by speculation about his position after a 1-1 draw with Tottenham extended his side's winless run in the Premier League to 11 games.

Saints, who have not won in the league since the 4-1 victory over Everton on 26 November, have not been on such a run since 1998.

"I don't worry about my job because I am happy doing the job. It is part of our life," said Argentine Pellegrino, who has been at St Mary's since June.

"In Argentina we say that the job is the electric chair - it is not easy to stay in the seat."

Sunday's result means Tottenham missed the chance to move level on points with fourth-placed Liverpool.

The hosts took a deserved early lead as Spurs central defender Davinson Sanchez diverted Ryan Bertrand's low cross into his own net.

The advantage lasted less than four minutes, though, with Harry Kane - the division's top scorer - nodding home a straightforward header as the Saints defence failed to compete for Ben Davies' corner.

Jack Stephens missed a glorious opportunity to restore Southampton's lead before the break, but neither side could carve out the same quality of chance before a frantic finale.

As Tottenham rallied late on, Stephens made amends for his earlier error by blocking Erik Lamela's goalbound shot with six minutes to go.

At the other end, 17-year-old debutant Michael Obafemi could not direct Dusan Tadic's shot on goal with one of his first touches off the bench, before Sofiane Boufal and Kane wasted openings for their respective sides.

Southampton are a point off 17th-placed Stoke in the table.

Tottenham, however, will be cut five points adrift of the top four if Liverpool beat Swansea on Monday.

Southampton's performance showed both the reasons behind their rotten form and why their general play has merited more.

Even before Sanchez poked the ball into the back of his own net, Manolo Gabbiadini had tested Michel Vorm from distance and come close to getting a telling touch to Tadic's cross.

Tottenham's equaliser did nothing to sap their attacking energy and enthusiasm either, with Stephens heading past the angle of post and bar from James Ward-Prowse's vicious delivery.

Intelligent in possession and organised without the ball, it was the sort of display that had secured a point at Manchester United and come within a few minutes of beating Arsenal during their winless run.

But it had been undermined by a horrendous lapse in concentration.

Just 197 seconds after Saints took the lead, Kane eased aside Stephens, rose above Gabbiadini and planted a header past a rooted Alex McCarthy from five yards.

Reports before the match claimed Monaco striker Guido Carrillo and Spartak Moscow winger Quincy Promes are in Pellegrino's sights as he seeks to reinvest the windfall from Virgil van Dijk's £75m move to Liverpool.

To invest in more firepower, rather than a commanding defensive figure similar to their departed Dutchman, might be the gamble that decides the Argentine's future.

With Tottenham short of the scintillating form that had sliced apart Everton last weekend, manager Mauricio Pochettino brought Son Heung-Min into the centre of his attack, just behind Kane, from the left wing at half-time.

When the South Korean's guile could not unpick the lock, he was replaced by Erik Lamela with 20 minutes remaining.

The problem may have been the man left on the pitch, however.

Dele Alli has scored two goals in his past 16 matches and, without the ill Christian Eriksen alongside him, was again ineffectual in the playmaking role.

The 21-year-old admitted in December that he was struggling to recreate the stellar form of his previous two campaigns.

Pochettinho, while admitting a saturated St Mary's surface did not help, was not happy with the tempo his side set in attack.

"We needed to move the ball quicker and create more," he said.

"A few players were affected last week with illness but it's not an excuse.

"The result is the result because football punishes us for not using the ball."

As the run-in gathers pace and the World Cup looms, both he and England counterpart Gareth Southgate will hope Alli can rediscover his form soon.