Ange Postecoglou has admitted his Tottenham Hotspur players simply “cannot accept” the miserable form they are in.
While marred by controversy, Wednesday’s 2-1 defeat to Arsenal was Tottenham’s 11th defeat in just 21 Premier League games this season – equaling the unwanted record set in the 1997/98, 2003/04 and 2003/04 seasons 2008/09.
This puts Spurs in 13th place in the standings, just eight points above the relegation zone and just two wins from their last eleven games.
“This cannot be accepted by anyone in the club. We lose so many games in a league season, that’s not right,” said Postecoglou after the latest defeat.
“It’s not good enough, especially in the first half, we were just way too passive, we allowed Arsenal to take control of the game. I’m really disappointed with the way we played both with and without the ball, we allowed them to dictate.” The tempo was a little better in the second half, but nowhere near good enough.
“That’s not who we are. That’s not how I set up the team. It just wasn’t good enough to be there and let Arsenal play.”
“There is no magic cure. We have to work hard and go into battle on Sunday and turn our fortunes and our season around. There are always reasons why something happens, but the reality is that our results and our form in the league were nowhere near good enough. “That has to change.
“We just didn’t play nearly the way I would like. We are an aggressive team with and without the ball – we showed that against Liverpool, but tonight we were far too passive. This is not acceptable. The second half was a little better, but it wasn’t enough.
Tottenham face relegation-threatened Everton next weekend before ending January at home to struggling Leicester City. Brentford, Manchester United and Manchester City are on the schedule in February.