Ange Postecoglou branded Tottenham losing 15 Premier League games this season as “unacceptable” – and also singled out Yves Bissouma for criticism following their defeat by Fulham.
The North London club last lost the same number of matches after 29 games back in 1997-98 when they finished 14th. Tottenham now sit 13th with the rest of the season now hanging on their Europa League quarter-final against Eintracht Frankfurt next month.
Postecoglou, who replaced midfielder Bissouma at half-time for the third time in five matches, tore into the former Brighton man for his performance. He said: “I feel Biss sometimes lets the game drift by him, he needs to be more dominant.
“Today, we needed more in that position. I had needed him to play because he hasn’t played a lot. At the same time, I need him to perform. It is safe to say maybe Biss and a few guys lack a bit of confidence but at this stage of the season we need people to perform.”
It wasn’t just Bissouma who was on the sharp end of Postecoglou’s fury though. He also took aim at the side for their attitude not only at Craven Cottage but for the majority of the campaign.
He added: “It’s unacceptable to see 15 league defeats. It’s nowhere near good enough, nowhere near the level we need to be and I understand the supporters’ frustrations with that.
“Today wasn’t so much about performance, it was just another day when we let a game get away from us that we shouldn’t have. We’ve given the opposition a lift into the game by conceding soft goals.
“We can’t let this league season go the way it has. We have lost way too many games. Unacceptable. Today was another day where it’s not like the opposition have blown us off the park. We should have got something out of the game. We have had too many games this year where the opportunity to get something out of the game was there and we haven’t done that. I don’t want there to be an acceptance of us just losing games like that.
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“I don’t know if it has become a habit but I think if you accept it just becomes a lot more easier to not deal with adversity and I don’t want us to be that kind of team.”
Fulham can beat their best ever Premier League finish of seventh in 2008-09 and qualify for Europe with nine games to go. “When you win football matches and when you are in positions probably the people don’t expect at the beginning of the season, it is never going to be a problem for us,” said boss Marco Silva.
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