Tottenham Hotspur have now lost four consecutive Premier League matches after falling 2-1 to visiting Leicester City on Sunday.
It was another frustrating afternoon for Spurs as they dominated possession, created more chances and scored the first goal of the match against the Foxes, but it mattered little as the visitors stormed back with goals on either side of halftime to claim the full three points.
"Yeah, it hurts. It hurts a lot," Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou told Sky Sports. "The players gave everything again. We are going to look at a lot of things, but in terms of effort I can't ask any more of this group, things just didn't go our way today.
"We created some good opportunities and unfortunately things just didn't drop for us because not because the players weren't trying and that's the main thing."
Postecoglou reiterated that the players' collective efforts are up to his expectations and may actually be a contributing factor towards the club's struggles this season.
"When you're in this situation, they are trying as hard as they can and sometimes that doesn't give you the clarity in decision making," he said. "All you can ask is for people to do as much as they can and from my perspective I see a group of players that are giving as much as they can.
"I know it will turn. We'll get some players back, we were short again today but in the next couple of weeks there's some really important players coming back that I know will help this group."
To rub salt in the wounds, the result ended a seven-match league losing streak for Leicester. That the Foxes could end such a woeful stretch of matches against Tottenham could be seen as a black mark against Postecoglou, whose job security has come into question with his side slipping to 15th place in the standings.
"I'm a football manager and I get judged on results, that is the way of the world," he said.