Ange Postecoglou criticized his Tottenham team after their derby day defeat to Arsenal, calling their performance and recent form “unacceptable”.
Postecoglou's side were barely in danger in the 2-1 defeat, with Pedro Porro's injury-time shot off the post from an impossible angle, the closest they came to a second-half response as they seemingly chased the match.
Spurs sit in 13th place with just one league win against 20th-placed Southampton since beating Manchester City in November, while Arsenal have the title in their sights. Postecoglou's team is only eight points above the relegation zone.
On Sunday they face Everton, who are themselves trying to avoid a relegation battle, live on Sky Sports.
When asked to give his opinion on the performance, Postecoglou said: “Not good enough, especially the first half which was far too passive. We allowed Arsenal to take control. I was disappointed with us, with and without the ball, which allowed them could dictate the pace is not nearly good enough.
“That's not who we are. I didn't let the team play like that. It just wasn't good enough to sit there and let Arsenal play.”
“There is no silver bullet. We have to work hard and battle on Sunday and turn our fortunes and our season around. There are always reasons why things happen, but the reality is that our results and form in the league have not been nearly good enough. ” That has to change.
“We just didn't play close to the identity of what I want us to be. We are an aggressive team, with and without the ball. We showed that against Liverpool, but tonight we were far too passive. That's not acceptable. The second half was a little better, but it wasn't enough.
“This cannot be accepted by anyone at the club. It is not right that we lose so many games in a season. Yes, we are asking for big jobs, but I hope that the 18-year-olds [Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall] are in as much pain as anyone else when it comes to not being able to perform on a big day.”
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