Ange Postecoglou says there is no point in his Spurs players “looking for a cuddle” after losing for the fourth time in five games at the hands of West Ham.
Returning defender Cristian Romero had put Tottenham ahead but a Jarrod Bowen equaliser was followed by James Ward-Prowse’s close-range finish after a poor back pass from Destiny Udogie to secure the victory for David Moyes’ side.
It means Postecoglou is now winless in the last five league games after a positive start to the season but the Spurs boss urged his players to dust themselves down quickly.
“There’s no point in feeling sorry for ourselves, looking for a cuddle anywhere,” Postecoglou said.
“There’s only one way to change our circumstances and that is to come here on Sunday and put in a performance. Not just play good football but go out there and show some conviction about ourselves as a team.
“Sometimes we can disguise how we’re going by playing some nice stuff but like I said from day one, that’s not what I’m about.
“I want to win and that’s why I came to this football club and that’s the message.
“We’ve still got a long way to go, I’ve said that from the start. We’re still right at the beginning of what we need to create and days like today just give me further evidence and fuel of how much we need to do.”
Spurs will be looking for a much-needed win when they host Newcastle on Sunday, who were thumped 3-0 by Everton on Thursday, but Postecoglou says his players must improve in front of goal if they are to turn things around.
“I think it’s another game where we’ve dominated a game of football and haven’t turned our dominance into something more tangible and kept the opposition in the game.
“I thought we were really poor in both boxes tonight – both with our finishing and both goals were terrible to concede.
“Us being good means us being 3-0 up. This isn’t about us playing good football, it’s about us winning games of football. That’s what I’ve said from the start.
“1-0 at half-time was not a good performance. A good performance would have been 3-0 or 4-0 up, as was the case against Villa, and when you don’t, and give up goals you shouldn’t like today, then you get what you deserve.”
