Ange Postecoglou has warned there is no “magic cure” for Tottenham's dismal form as they prepare to visit relegation-threatened Everton in the Premier League on Sunday.
Tottenham slumped to a 2-1 defeat at Arsenal in the north London derby on Wednesday – their fifth Premier League game in a row without a win.
They are closer to the relegation zone than to the top eight, and although cup wins over Liverpool and Tamworth have raised hopes that their long wait for a major trophy could end this season, their chances of reaching Europe through the competition appear to pilot small.
Asked how he would look to improve Spurs' fortunes, Postecoglou told reporters: “You have no choice. There is no magic cure.
“You have to get up tomorrow, work hard and go into Sunday and prepare to go into battle and turn around our fortunes and our season.
“There is nothing magical that will change this. There are always reasons why all these things happen.
“The reality is that our results and our form in the league have not been nearly good enough. That has to change.”
Everton, meanwhile, were beaten 1-0 by Aston Villa in David Moyes' first game back in charge on Wednesday, and they sit precariously above the relegation zone.
The Toffees missed several clear chances to get something out of that match, and Moyes knows it will take some time for their attacking returns to improve.
“It will take more than a few days before I really see that. I think Sean Dyche has seen it for a long time,” Moyes said after the Villa match.
“We try to encourage the players to play forward, try to punish Villa, deliver good balls into the box. We threatened and fell behind once or twice.”
Asked about the reception he received on his return to Merseyside, he said: “I feel incredibly lucky and blessed to be coming back here. I know what it means for the supporters.
“I'm still keeping my head down a little bit because I want us to win and I want to enjoy celebrating with them. But now that we're in this position and losing, I'm a little meek right now.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Everton – Dominic Calvert Lewin
Since the start of November, Everton are the lowest scorers in the Premier League with just five goals in eleven games, two of which were Craig Dawson's own goals in a 4-0 win over Wolves.
They have failed to score in 12 games this season, making them one of only four teams to do so in their first 20 games of a league season, along with Norwich City in 2021/22 (14) , Southampton in 2003/04 (12) and Derby County in 2007-08 (12).
Calvert-Lewin has now failed to score in 16 consecutive league games and his form must improve if Moyes' men are to stay out of the danger zone.
Tottenham-Son Heung-min
Tottenham captain Son was involved in ten goals in his twelve Premier League starts against Everton, scoring seven times and providing three assists.
MATCH PREDICTION – draw
Like Spurs, Everton have started 2025 with back-to-back defeats in the Premier League. The Toffees have lost three games in a row to start a calendar year six times before, most recently in 2022 and 2023.
Tottenham, meanwhile, have only done that twice in their history (in 1993 and 1994), and while cup wins over Liverpool and Tamworth have given supporters hope of silverware, their miserable league form has put Postecoglou under the microscope.
Tottenham are unbeaten in their last eleven Premier League trips to Goodison, although they have drawn eight times (three wins) during that run.
They are aiming for their first league double against the Toffees since 2017/18 after winning 4-0 in the reverse fixture in August.
Everton against Tottenham at Goodison, meanwhile, is the tightest match in Premier League history, finishing 17 out of 32 encounters.
Each of the last five such encounters has been drawn, with no exact match ever ending six times in a row in Premier League history, so we could see a competition first on Sunday.
OPTA CHANCE OF WINNING
Everton – 34.4%
Tottenham – 39.2%
Draw – 26.4%
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