Premier League
Postecoglou Admits Tottenham Has Lost Belief As Top-four Hopes Fade Away
Following a disappointing 2-0 defeat against Chelsea, Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou admitted that his team has “lost belief,” dealing a severe blow to their aspirations of qualifying for the Champions League.
Postecoglou’s team needed a victory at Stamford Bridge to narrow the distance on fourth-placed Aston Villa in the battle for a top-four finish in the Premier League.
However, they suffered a third consecutive defeat as Chelsea emerged victorious over their London rival with goals from Trevoh Chalobah and Nicolas Jackson.
Fifth-placed Tottenham are seven points behind Aston Villa with four games left, while Unai Emery’s men have three to play.
With their Champions League hopes fading, Postecoglou conceded his players are no longer playing with the confidence that infused their performances earlier this season.
Taking the blame for Tottenham’s untimely slump, the Australian said: “It wasn’t good enough and I have to take responsibility for that, it is on me. I am the manager and I am the one putting them out there and it was not good enough.”
He stated, “When we put in a performance like we did in the first half it meant my message wasn’t getting through.”
Tottenham’s recurring struggles with defending set-pieces proved pivotal once more, prompting former Celtic manager Postecoglou to lament his side’s collapse in the final weeks of his first season in charge.
“I feel like we’ve lost a bit of belief and conviction in our football and that is on me to change that,” he said. “It wasn’t about conceding the first goal, it was our approach to playing football and we were nowhere near good enough. That is on me.”
He stated, “We’ve been in a bit of a grind for a while now, that is part of our challenge and part of our growth. We have to go out there and perform and sometimes you have to grind out. We were poor today.”
Asked if Tottenham’s top four bid was over, the downcast Postecoglou added: “I don’t know how to answer these questions. We were poor today, what is the point of thinking about anything else? “There’s no major formula. We will work hard and make sure we get it right. My responsibility is to make sure we play better next time.”
