Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou took responsibility for his side’s 2-0 defeat at Chelsea after showing his anger on the touchline as Sky Sports’ Jamie Redknapp said he looked a “beaten man”.
Tottenham suffered a third consecutive defeat in another blow to their Champions League qualification hopes, with Postecoglou’s fifth-placed side trailing fourth-placed Aston Villa by seven points and with just a single game in hand.
The loss at Stamford Bridge saw Postecoglou fume at his players on the touchline during a poor first-half performance which saw the visitors fail to have a shot on target.
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FREE TO WATCH: Highlights from the Premier League clash between Chelsea and Tottenham
In his post-match press conference, which lasted under three minutes, a downbeat Postecoglou said: “It wasn’t a great night. We didn’t have the mindset that I expect us to have, so that’s on me, I’ve got to take responsibility for that.
“Ultimately I’m the one that’s putting them out there and preparing them for it. We were so far off it I’ve got to look at myself and see how I’m preparing this team for it.”
He added: “We didn’t really reach the levels we needed to get a result here tonight. It’s fair to say we didn’t play anywhere near the levels to get something out of the game and probably didn’t deserve it.”
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Tottenham boss Postecoglou was left frustrated with his team’s performance and insisted that he takes full responsibility for the Chelsea loss
Tottenham go to Anfield on Sunday to face third-placed Liverpool, live on Sky Sports, a fixture in which the north London side will be looking to avoid a fourth straight defeat.
Questioned on a testing period, the Australian replied: “It is what it is. I don’t think in those terms.
“My responsibility is preparing the team every game to make sure we reach certain levels. We didn’t do it today so that lies on my feet and I’ve got to fix that.”
Sunday 5th May 4:00pm
Kick off 4:30pm
Tottenham have now kept just one clean sheet in their last 17 league games, while Trevoh Chalobah’s headed opener from Conor Gallagher’s free-kick was Spurs’ 22nd goal conceded from a set-piece situation in the Premier League this season – only Nottingham Forest (26) and Sheffield United (23) have shipped more.
Asked what the problems were in the defeat at Chelsea, the 58-year-old responded: “We lacked a real conviction and positive mindset in our football.
“We just didn’t have any real fluency and any aggression with and without the ball. It’s a bit unlike us.
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Trevor Chalobah heads Chelsea in front against Tottenham as the visitors’ struggles from set-pieces continue
“If nothing else we’ve always been very competitive and especially in the first half that was missing today.”
Postecgolou made five changes to his starting line-up for the visit to Chelsea with James Maddison dropped to the bench, but the ex-Celtic boss admitted his team selection backfired.
“I just thought we needed to freshen up the team,” he said. “I thought we needed legs today.
“They’ve got a real mobile and quick front four and I just felt we needed some legs in the midfield with Biss [Yves Bissouma], [Pape] Sarr and Deki [Dejan Kulusevski] I thought it would help us, but fair to say it didn’t work, though.”
Redknapp: Spurs have fallen off a cliff
Sky Sports’ Jamie Redknapp following Tottenham’s defeat at Chelsea:
“They didn’t win individual battles, didn’t win enough second balls, they were so passive, especially in the first half in a derby game where you have to win those battles, play forward and look to pass with a bit of urgency. They didn’t do all the basics.
“When Ange took over, I was watching the football thinking, ‘this is almost revolutionary’. You’ve got two men coming into midfield, the two full-backs looking fantastic, people playing at such a high level.
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Nicolas Jackson heads in after a sublime Cole Palmer free-kick hit the crossbar to put Chelsea 2-0 up against Tottenham
“But they’ve fallen off a cliff now. They’ve won two out of their last seven since they beat Aston Villa away in one of the best performances I’ve seen this season.
“The other thing, they’ve only played 37 games this year. They lost in the Carabao Cup in the second round and lost in the fourth round of the FA Cup to Manchester City. There’s no fatigue involved.
“I look at the manager and he looks beaten. I was like, ‘wow, that’s pretty damning’. I don’t like to see a manager like that. When you manage Tottenham – he’s not been there that long – a lot of them get like that after a while but that’s really early.
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Cristian Romero headed a good chance wide in the first half
“Players aren’t playing at the level they were earlier in the season. If you want to compete and have played as few games as Tottenham have, you’ve got to be performing every single week. That’s really disappointing when I look at how good they were early in the season.
“That was a bit of a worrying interview from Ange. I’ve watched his interviews for a while now and he’s slowly but surely not looking like he’s enjoying it as much as when he first came.
“I still feel Tottenham have the players and structure there. But they definitely need to thicken up the squad. The subs coming on aren’t at the level they need.”
Tottenham’s remaining fixtures
May 5: Liverpool (A) – Premier League, kick-off 4.30pm, live on Sky Sports
May 11: Burnley (H) – Premier League, kick-off 3pm
May 14: Man City (H) – Premier League, kick-off 8pm, live on Sky Sports
May 19: Sheffield United (A) – Premier League, kick-off 4pm