Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou lamented the side's "unacceptable second half" after they lost 3-2 at Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday.
Spurs appeared to be cruising towards three points as they went into the halftime break up 2-0, thanks to first-half goals by Brennan Johnson and James Maddison. However, the wheels fell off for Postecoglou's men in the closing 45 minutes and they allowed three unanswered goals by the hosts during an 18-minute spell to forget for the North Londoners.
It was Spurs' third loss in five league matches as they fell to ninth place on the Premier League table, and for Postecoglou it was unlike any other result he's seen since his arrival at the club in 2023.
"Disappointing," Postecoglou told Sky Sports when asked for an immediate reaction to the loss. "Frustrated and absolutely gutted with that. Worst defeat since I've been here.
"Unacceptable second half. Nowhere near where we should be. We got carried away with how we were going.
"We kind of accepted our fate and it is hard to understand as we've not done that while I've been here. We paid the price.
"The problem is we are travelling along too smoothly, football and life will trip you up if you get too far ahead of yourself."
As for what message he intends to send the players in the aftermath of the defeat, Postecoglou said it's not as simple as that.
"There is no message," he said. "It is a terrible loss for us - as bad as it gets. Only one way to fix it and that's my responsibility.
"We lost all our duels and if you're not competitive it is not going to work - we were not competitive.
"They all go on international duty, the majority of them. They will process it individually and I will process it when everyone gets back."
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