Ange Postecoglou has taken responsibility after Tottenham were generous enough to give Ipswich Town their first Premier League win of the season.
Ipswich went into half time 2-0 up at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium before Dominic Solanke had a goal disallowed early on in the second 45.
Rodrigo Bentancur did half the deficit but the match finished 2-1 to Kieran McKenna’s side, who picked up their first win in the Premier League this season in the process.
“Hugely disappointing,” Postecoglou said. “We started slow and passively. We gave ourselves a mountain to climb. Second half we had chances but didn’t do enough to win the game.
“It’s just down to me. I’m not getting consistent performances from the players. It’s something I need to address. I’m the person in charge so that’s usually the way it goes. I take responsibility.
“We can’t give ourselves those kind of mountains to climb.”
Asked about Ipswich players doing down injured regularly, the Australian said: “It seems to be the way the Premier League is going. Clubs are taking strategic time-outs. We just have to cop it. It’s up to the officials not me.”
Postecoglou is not optimistic he will be able to solve Spurs’ problems over the international break.
“They all go away so there’s nothing I can address in the next 13 days until I get them back,” he said.
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Spurs captain Son Heung-min added: “It’s very disappointing. Before they scored we had a couple of chances. We conceded a very sloppy goal that shouldn’t happen. It’s more than disappointing.
“Sometims you have to be calm and find a better solution if someone is in a better position. We have to be better in those kind of situations. It’s very painful.”
McKenna had a much different reaction to the game. He said: “So proud. It’s been a long time for the club, 22 years since the supporters saw a win in the Premier League.
“The journey to get to here has been a big one. It feels a bit special today. We believe we’ve been improving. We’ve picked up five out of 10 results but were waiting for the first win to validate the work and improvements. It’s a massive moment, one to cherish.
“The first half it was everything [you’d want] for a team in our context against Tottenham. A good balance. Moments where we played a a good tempo and moments where we slowed it down.
“A top half away from home. In the second half we showed good resilience. We didn’t give away too many chances. We defended well and were a threat on the break. A top performance.
“It was really important [to hang on]. If we’d conceded at the end it would have been a big blow. To get one over the line like that we’ve deserved for quite a few weeks. A big boost for everyone.
“The players are delighted. They know it’s a win to cherish.”
Ipswich striker Liam Delap said: “It means so much. We’ve put in so many great performances and just lacked that final bit. The performance was terrific. This is a horrible place to come. We couldn’t be happier.
“The manager is so good. He helps us every week. We’ve shown today we can stick to that [plan].
“We knew we had to start fast. It’s a tough place to come. We deserved the goals in the first half. It’s such a tough league.”