Ange Postecoglou admitted Tottenham had the wrong mindset after their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League were hit by a limp 2-0 loss to Chelsea.
Spurs, who lie seven points below fourth-placed Aston Villa with four games to go, were woefully short of fight on a damaging night. Their frailties at set pieces were exposed again and although they have a game in hand on Villa, Postecoglou had no complaints about Chelsea extending his side’s losing run to three matches.
“It wasn’t a great night for us,” the Spurs manager said. “We didn’t play anywhere near the football and didn’t have the mindset that I expect us to have. That’s on me, I’ve got to take responsibility for that.
“I’m the one putting them out there and preparing them for it. When we’re so far off it, I’ve got to look at myself and see how I’m preparing this team for it. We lacked a real conviction and positive mindset in our football. We didn’t really have any fluency, any sort of aggression with and without the ball. It’s a bit unlike us.”
Postecoglou, who takes his side to Anfield on Sunday, refused to be drawn on whether he is worried about the deterioration of his side’s form. “It is what it is,” he said. “I don’t think in those terms. It’s my responsibility to prepare the team every game and make sure we meet certain levels. We didn’t do it today so that lies at my feet and I’ve got to fix that.”
Mauricio Pochettino, who savoured victory over his former team, felt Chelsea produced their best performance of the season. “It is the most happy I’ve been,” Chelsea’s head coach said. “In the way we play, the way we compete, that is what we wanted from the beginning of the season.”
Chelsea, who are up to eighth, are three points behind sixth-placed Manchester United and still have hope of qualifying for Europe. But Pochettino added that whether he will be in charge next season is not up to him.
after newsletter promotion
“It’s difficult to see every single week that I am under scrutiny and judgment,” he said. “It’s not my decision whether to be here or not. We’ll see if we have time to build.”