Jermain Defoe has advised Ange Postecoglou to employ a bit of pragmatism in order to stop Tottenham from throwing away leads.
Spurs were 2-0 up heading into half-time of their Premier League clash with Brighton on Sunday thanks to goals from Brennan Johnson and James Maddison.
However, the Lilywhites inexplicably collapsed after the break, conceding three times in the first 21 minutes of the second half to snatch a 3-2 defeat from the jaws of victory.
Ange Postecoglou has been lauded for the exciting football Spurs have played under his management. However, they can be prone to defensive lapses and leaving themselves far too open.
That was on full display at the Amex Stadium and as a result, Spurs now sit ninth in the Premier League with 10 points from seven games; four adrift of the Champions League spots.
Jermain Defoe’s advice for Tottenham boss Postecoglou
Former Spurs striker Defoe — who scored 143 goals in 363 appearances for the club across two spells — has some advice for Postecoglou.
“The game changes, you can’t always be like ‘this is how we’re going to play’,” Defoe told Optus Sport (via TBR).
“If you get two goals, you may have to change a little bit, the environment, the score, you can’t always play the same. For 10 minutes, sit behind the ball.
“It was disappointing in terms of Tottenham.”
Following the international break, Spurs have back-to-back home games to look forward to, first against London rivals West Ham before the visit of Dutch side AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League.