Christian Eriksen concedes he is going through the toughest spell of his Tottenham career but insists it has nothing to do with the rumours that surrounded his future during the transfer window.
Spurs headed into the international break on the back of a dismal week in which a 3-0 Premier League defeat at Brighton and Hove Albion followed an embarrassing 7-2 home loss to Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
Tottenham is already 13 points adrift of leader Liverpool after eight matches and questions have been raised about the long-term future of boss Mauricio Pochettino.
Eriksen was one of several Spurs stars linked with a move away from the club during the window, with Real Madrid, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain all having been tipped to head for the exit door.
The Denmark international is adamant such talk has no effect on a player's performances on the pitch, though.
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"It doesn't matter at all. Everyone is professional and in all clubs there is talk of players going away," Eriksen told Danish outlet Ekstra Bladet.
"That side of the matter has no bearing on how we have performed so far this season.
"If I, as a football player, took all the rumours to me, I would float on a cloud. But I know that it can't all be true. It does not affect me what is written."
Eriksen says Tottenham, Champions League finalist last term, is dealing with different expectation levels than it was when he joined from Ajax in 2013.
"It's definitely my hardest time right now at Tottenham," he added. "The first year when I came was probably a bit up and down, but since Pochettino came in 2014 it has been a success story.
"Expectations for us are at a completely different level now. We have to win every time and it's the same feeling we have as players as well.
"We as players must try to keep all the negative things completely out. But the reason for our results is actually hard to answer. We can't close the matches, even though we are ahead. But we have also been unlucky."
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