Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou took full responsibility after his side suffered a 2-1 defeat to previously winless Ipswich Town in the Premier League. (More Football News)
Sammie Szmodics and Liam Delap gave Ipswich a 2-0 lead at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as Spurs fell short, despite Rodrigo Bentancur returning a goal in the second half.
It was Tottenham's third defeat in their last five matches across all competitions and leaves Postecoglou's side in 10th place in the Premier League with 16 points from 11 matches.
"It's hugely disappointing. We started slow and passively. We gave ourselves a mountain to climb. In the second half, we had chances but didn’t do enough to win the game," the Australian coach told BBC Sport after the game.
His side had also suffered a 3-2 defeat to Galatasaray in the Europa League on Thursday.
The hosts generated an xG of 1.82 on Sunday with five shots on target from 17 attempts, but were unable to take anything from the game.
"It's just down to me, I’m not getting consistent performances from the players. It’s something I need to address. I’m the person in charge, so that’s usually the way it goes. I take responsibility," said Postecoglou.
"We can’t give ourselves those kind of mountains to climb."
When asked about Ipswich's time-wasting tactics, Postecoglou said it is something his players will have to deal with.
"It seems to be the way the Premier League is going. Clubs are taking strategic time-outs. We just have to cop it. It’s up to the officials, not me," he said.
Tottenham captain Son Heung-min echoed the sentiments of his manager.
"It’s very disappointing. Before they scored, we had a couple of chances. We conceded a very sloppy goal that shouldn’t happen, it’s more than disappointing," said the Korean forward.
It was the fifth straight Premier League home game in which Tottenham had conceded first and proved costly this time around.
Spurs went in search of an equaliser after the restart and ended the game with 39 touches in the Ipswich box and 63 final third entries, but failed to work goalkeeper Arijanet Muric enough.
"Sometimes you have to be calm and find a better solution if someone is in a better position. We have to be better in those kind of situations. It’s very painful," said Son.
Tottenham will face champions Manchester City next, when the Premier League resumes after the international break before a trip to Roma in the Europa League.
