Ange Postecoglou snapped at a question over Tottenham’s top four hopes following Saturday’s comprehensive 3-0 defeat against Fulham.
Spurs put themselves in the driving seat for Champions League qualification following last weekend’s thumping win over Aston Villa, but surrendered that momentum after one of their worst performances of the season at Craven Cottage.
Rodrigo Muniz continued his sensational form with the opening goal shortly before half-time and Fulham built on that momentum by scoring swiftly after the break through Sasa Lukic.
And any hopes of mounting a comeback were ended on the hour mark when the predatory Muniz bundled home from close range.
Spurs created several opportunities to at least continue their run of scoring in every Premier League game so far this season, but wayward finishing from Timo Werner in particular summed up a dismal evening.
Postecoglou’s side now sit two points behind Villa, who visit West Ham tomorrow, and the Spurs boss was in no mood to answer questions on his side’s hopes of securing a return to Europe’s elite club competition.
‘It’s all over so we’ll just go for sixth. What am I meant to say to that?’ he sniped when asked to assess a damaging result.
‘We’re two points behind Villa. It’s 10 games to go, there’s so much football to play. I don’t worry about that stuff. It’s not about just falling into a place in the ladder.
‘We could finish fourth, great, it’s nothing this football club haven’t done. It’s about how we play.’
‘It’s something we need to analyse I thought we were careless on the ball,’ he added. ‘We were too keen to get forward. We lacked some conviction in our last third play.
‘It’s part of our growth. Feel that pain and learn from it. It does go down as a bad day at the office but we don’t accept it. First half was even enough. It wasn’t our normal levels. We didn’t have the same intensity in our play. It’s a big part of who we are.’
Captain Son Heung-min, who endured a rare quiet night, meanwhile, was cutting in his criticism of his team’s display, branding it ‘unacceptable’.
He said: ‘It is very disappointing and very frustrating. Everybody has to look in the mirror and say ‘it is my fault’. It was not good enough. We didn’t put in the effort we have put in this season. The performance, the attitude was not good enough.
‘Everyone needs a big wake-up call. In the Premier League if you are not ready you get punished. Aston Villa are an amazing team, but so are Fulham. If you are not giving 100% you get punished. You don’t get three points for free.
‘This is two steps backwards. We now need to step forward. It is unacceptable, including me it was unacceptable. We are representing Premier League teams, we are representing Tottenham.
‘This was not close to what we have been doing this season. It is very sad to watch this. The fans don’t deserve this. They are coming here with positive energy and good vibes. Losing this was is very tough. The players are very down.’
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