Ange Postecoglou has claimed responsibility for an abject Tottenham display after their 2-0 loss at Chelsea and admitted his players looked to have lost belief in his football.
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Spurs suffered a third consecutive Premier League defeat to see their top-four hopes all but ended on a painful night in west London.
Familiar problems reared their ugly heads for Tottenham, with a Trevor Chalobah header from Conor Gallagher's 24th-minute free-kick enough to give Chelsea a deserved half-time lead, with that goal the 15th the visitors have conceded from set-pieces this season.
Chelsea made the points safe with 18 minutes left when Nicolas Jackson headed home after Cole Palmer had smashed an effort against the crossbar, but it was also tinged with embarrassment for the away side after Son Heung-min and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg ran into each other on the goal line.
Postecoglou was animated throughout the clash at Stamford Bridge and left frustrated with another disjointed display in attack, with Tottenham only able to produce three shots on target despite boasting more than 62 per cent possession.
"I feel like we've lost a bit of belief and conviction in our football and that is on me to change that. It wasn't about conceding the (first) goal, it was our approach to playing football and we were nowhere near good enough," Postecoglou reflected.
"It wasn't a great night and it's fair to say we didn't play anywhere near the sort of football and didn't have the mindset that I expect us to have. That's on me and I've got to take responsibility for that ultimately.
"I'm the one who is putting them out there and preparing them for it. We were so far off it and I've got to look at myself and see how I'm preparing this team for it.
"Like I said, we lacked a real sort of conviction and positive mindset in our football.
"We didn't really have any fluency, any sort of aggression with and without the ball. It's a bit unlike us because if nothing else we've always been competitive, especially in the first half it was missing."
Aston Villa are now overwhelming favourites to secure fourth spot - the last qualifying slot for the Champions League - as they lead Spurs by seven points, though Postecoglou's men have a game in hand.
But Spurs still have to play title-chasing Manchester City and third-placed Liverpool in their remaining four matches.
Australian Associated Press
