•Tottenham suffered their third successive Premier League defeat in Sunday's 2-0 loss away to Wolverhampton Wanderers
•Sunday's defeat marked the first time Conte has lost three league games in a row
•Tottenham are five points adrift of fourth-placed West Ham United
Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte said the club face an "impossible" challenge of qualifying for the Champions League next season after a recent dip in form.
Tottenham suffered their third successive Premier League defeat in Sunday's 2-0 loss away to Wolverhampton Wanderers and slipped to eighth in the table on 36 points after 22 matches.
Conte was undefeated in his first nine league games after taking charge of Tottenham in November, but the optimism that run induced is fading fast.
"When you lose two games at home and against Chelsea, for a team that wants to qualify for the Champions League, it's impossible to happen," Conte told Sky Sports on Sunday.
"We know we have to fight to build something important with the situation but it's important to know the situation. Maybe our fans shouldn't be disappointed with the defeat, instead, they should try and push us and stay behind us.
"The players need to find the right atmosphere and feel no pressure about a target that in this moment you can't reach. I've been saying this since my arrival."
Sunday's defeat marked the first time Conte has lost three league games in a row since his days managing Atalanta in November 2009.
Tottenham are five points adrift of fourth-placed West Ham United, though the north London club have three games in hand over the Hammers.
"We need to be realistic and together," Conte added in a news conference.
"The fans need to understand to have patience, to wait to rebuild again to a situation they were used to in the past.
"We are working hard with the players and there is great commitment but it's not enough if we want to be competitive. We have to wait."
Elsewhere, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola praised the "outstanding" contribution of forward Raheem Sterling this season, adding that any decision over the England international's future will be taken by the club.
Sterling scored a hat-trick in Saturday's 4-0 Premier League win at Norwich City as the champions extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to 12 games.
The 27-year-old, City's top scorer this season with 10 league goals, is under contract with the club until June 2023 but said in October he would be willing to leave them and move abroad.
"I have known Raheem for six seasons. I know him perfectly well. This season he was outstanding in goals and assists and his contribution to the team," Guardiola told City's website.
"If we count the amount games he played since we are together, it is a lot. He was a key player. In the future? I don't know what will happen. The club decides.
"When the club extends contacts, I give my opinion, but the club takes the decision, always."
City are top of the league table on 63 points after 25 matches, nine points above Liverpool who have a game in hand.
Guardiola's team play away at Sporting Lisbon in the first leg of the last-16 in the Champions League on Tuesday.