James Maddison believes Tottenham Hotspur lack the mental fortitude to compete with the ‘best teams.
Spurs went into Sunday’s trip to Brighton off the back of an excellent run of five straight wins across all competitions, which included a 3-0 victory at Old Trafford.
Tottenham then cruised into a 2-0 lead at the Amex Stadium on Sunday thanks to goals from Brennan Johnson and Maddison.
But that was followed by a remarkable capitulation, with Spurs conceding three goals in 21 second-half minutes to lose 3-2.
James Maddison: Spurs lack mental strength to compete with ‘the best’
Former Tottenham striker Dimitar Berbatov accused the Lilywhites of being ‘too nice’ after the match, lacking the ‘mental strength’ to deal with setbacks.
Maddison seems to agree with Berbatov’s assessment, stating that Spurs cannot ‘stay strong’ under pressure, unlike the ‘best teams’.
“We couldn’t deal with the mental shift and lost complete control of the game after the first goal went in. We dealt with the momentum very poorly. It just felt like attack after attack and we couldn’t deal with it,” Maddison told Sky Sports after full-time.
“It could have been definitely. Brighton are a good side but when the first goal went in you have to deal with adversity in the Premier League and stay strong, weather the storm. The best teams stay strong. We didn’t do that.
“We’ll need to take big lessons from the second half if we want to make strides forward.”
Spurs will now break off for the October internationals before returning for a home tie against London rivals West Ham United on the 19th.