The rare smile that Tottenham Hotspur head coach Ange Postecoglou wore four days ago in Frankfurt was replaced on Monday by the more familiar frown as a 2-1 home defeat by Nottingham Forest made it 18 Premier League losses for the London club this season.
Tottenham found themselves 2-0 down after 16 minutes, and although they dominated the game thereafter and got a late lifeline through Richarlison, it proved another tale of woe in a season that could become Tottenham’s worst in terms of points gained since their 44 in 1997-1998.
With a tough run-in to come, including a trip to champions-elect Liverpool next weekend, they are 16th with 37 points. Only the bottom three clubs have lost more games.
Photo: AP
Tottenham’s 1-0 win against Eintracht Frankfurt, which put them in the UEFA Europa League semi-finals, kept their season alive and Postecoglou could yet deliver on his claim that he always wins a trophy in his second season at a club, but another damaging league defeat, their eighth at home in the league this season, increases the pressure on the 59-year-old former Celtic manager.
“It’s another game we have lost where we shouldn’t lose and it’s been a big part of our season in that we are just making things really difficult for ourselves in key moments,” Australian Postecoglou told reporters. “Giving away poor goals. It’s a shame because our football was outstanding and we totally dominated the game. Even with the two goals we conceded I still feel like we deserved to win the game. At the same time it’s another loss and another unacceptable loss.”
“For us it’s just been a season where at times, even with the challenges we have had, it’s really frustrating because our football was so good,” he added. “We have lost another game.”
Photo: Reuters
Tottenham were booed at halftime, but the mood was a little more forgiving at the end after a stirring climax to the game in which the hosts pinned UEFA Champions League chasers Forest back.
“I don’t need to say anything to the fans. The fans are disappointed and angry as we are as well,” Postecoglou said. “The fans clearly wouldn’t be happy with our results, but neither am I or the players. From our perspective, it’s something we need to accept responsibility that we have fallen short of the standards we need to have.”
“The flip side of that is that the frustrating bit is it’s not because of the way we are playing because our football today was very similar to the Frankfurt game at home which was another game we should have won,” he added.
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