Tottenham let another lead slip in a 2-1 defeat to Arsenal in the Premier League on Thursday (AEDT).
A Son Heung-min opener wasn’t enough for Spurs to pick up any points as the Gunners pounced on a poor give away in midfield to score the winner through Leandro Trossard just before half-time.
Tottenham made two changes after the break and hit the post in injury-time but never looked likely of causing an upset at the Emirates.
Ange Postecoglou was particularly scathing of his side’s first-half performance post-match and admitted it was an ‘unacceptable’ showing from his side, who are now closer to the relegation zone than the top four.
Speaking on Matchday Live on Optus Sport, former Premier League forward Emmanuel Adebayor believes Postecoglou will be questioning his role after the display and suggested Tottenham players showed a lack of respect for his game plan.
“Looking at the gaffer speaking about his team you can see the sadness on his face,” Adebayor said.
“Definitely, he’s going to make some changes. For me, I think the team, the club, they have to make a lot of changes. They have to find a way to bring some players in.
“This manager, you can tell, he’s not far from giving up, but for him to have hope he needs players in January.
“Looking at the players today you can see what he’s asking them to do, they didn’t do anything at all today because the way they were losing the ball, losing possession…
“For him, being a manager on the sidelines, I think he must be really confused.
“Tonight, he will go home and be asking himself, ‘Why am I even manager?’ – because at some point those are the questions we ask ourselves.
“Today, it’s not his fault, he had a plan, he put it out there, but the players couldn’t respect it. Couldn’t respect it even up to 10 per cent.
“That’s very, very poor from a team like Tottenham.”
Despite his players underperforming, Postecoglou was quick to take responsibility for the defeat as pressure grows on the Aussie during a shaky second season at the helm.
Former Spurs manager Tim Sherwood praised Postecoglou for not making excuses for his team’s results and believes a trophy could still be in their grasp this season.
“He feels like every Tottenham fan feels at the moment. It hurts to lose a North London derby and on the back of a poor run of form as well,” Sherwood said.
“He’s authentic, I like him. He says it how it is, he doesn’t shirk any responsibility there, he’s taking it on his chin.
“He knows he’s the manager, the buck stops with him. He doesn’t try to shift the responsibility on to anyone, he wasn’t blaming the referees or any individual players, he’s blaming himself.
“He’s realistic, we’ve seen plenty of managers in the past look for every excuse under the sun to protect their team and themselves. He’s not trying to do that, he’s taking the responsibility and I admire him for that.
“You’ve got to give that guy time with a group of players that can play his style with his intensity week in, week out, and unfortunately they’ve fallen foul of injuries.
“I still maintain they beat anyone on their day, they’re a cup side for me. If he can win a trophy this year it will be deemed a success by them fans who were disappointed tonight.”
Tottenham notably have a 1-0 lead going into the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final against Liverpool which will be played at Anfield next month.
Before then, Spurs will be desperate to turn their league form around with matches against relegation-threatened Everton and Leicester City looming.
