Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou is determined to “change the perception” of his team after squandering a two-goal half-time lead to lose 3-2 at Brighton in their last Premier League game before the international break.
It was the 10th occasion in the Premier League era the club have taken a lead of two or more goals and yet gone on to lose.
“People will always find easy ways, if you’ve got a wound, to stick their finger in that wound,” Postecoglou said. “If you’re not prepared to accept that when things haven’t gone well, then make sure things go well.
“If we want to change the perception of ourselves, it will not come because of, ‘please don’t call us those names’. It will come because we’re proving we’re a team that can be relentless in our approach and be successful.”
After spending two weeks stewing on a defeat that left them ninth in the early Premier League standings, Postecoglou is keen his players learn from the experience.
“The second half was more around the fact we just didn’t look anything like ourselves,” he said. “We were really passive with and without the ball. We lacked real conviction and courage in everything we did.
“I hadn’t seen that before in us and it’s a good lesson for the whole group. You need to make sure tha, irrespective of how a game is going, you stick to the core principles of your football.”