Tottenham captain Son Heung-min admits recent defeats hurt but has urged the squad to keep playing the Ange Postecoglou way.
Aston Villa produced a comeback win in north London on Sunday to make it a November to forget for Spurs.
Premier League leaders at the start of the month, Tottenham have since suffered three consecutive losses and seen their list of absentees move into double figures.
Spurs went ahead against Villa, like they had in recent defeats to Chelsea and Wolves, but were wasteful in front of goal and also unable to keep up the relentless attacking style Postecoglou wants for the whole match.
“I think especially in this game, when you are 1-0 up, we have to control even more,” Son told SpursPlay.
“We have to respect the (opposition) and we made a couple of mistakes this season where we are going up 1-0 and started playing a little bit slowly.
“Then conceding goals, offsides, delays in the game, this is losing our game tempo a little bit and we are giving chances to Villa to come into the game.
“Before half-time when you concede a goal from a set-piece, I think we have to be more stronger.
“The players gave everything, especially in difficult circumstances. It is just tough to take.
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“It doesn’t matter how well you are playing, obviously in the end you are taking the results and we are talking about the results.
“Yeah, we created chances, good, very good. The way we are playing, I am very pleased and happy but it hurts when you lose a game, especially at home.
“We had such amazing support again and losing this game hurts.”
All the focus at Tottenham now turns to Sunday’s daunting trip to champions Manchester City and Rodrigo Bentancur is an early doubt after he sustained an ankle injury against Villa.
Bentancur made his first start since he suffered a serious knee injury in February and impressed before he was caught by a poor challenge from Matty Cash.
Spurs will have Yves Bissouma back from suspension and will check on Pape Sarr after he returned from Senegal national team duty with a knock, but Postecoglou knows he will be down to the bare bones for a while.
Tottenham boss Postecoglou said: “The reality of it is that we’re not going to get too many back.
“We’ll get Biss back but we might have lost Bentancur. We only had six or seven on the bench so everyone who is here at the moment is going to have to play a part.”
While Tottenham contemplate another defeat, Villa produced a clinical display to move up to fourth in the Premier League after goals by Pau Torres and Ollie Watkins, but Unai Emery played down the current table.
“Enjoy the position and of course the players are aware about where we are, but we will continue being demanding,” Emery said.
“In 38 matches, there are still a lot of things to happen.
“Now we have to rest and think about Thursday (against Legia Warsaw) and then Sunday against Bournemouth.”
Montego Bay United dominate Racing United to reclaim JPL summit
Montego Bay United delivered an emphatic 4-0 victory over Racing United at Ferdie Neita Park on Sunday, surging back to the top of the Jamaica Premier League (JPL) table. The St. James-based team showcased their attacking prowess, scoring twice in each half to secure their sixth win in nine matches.
First-half goals from Brian Brown in the 36th minute and Shaniel Thomas in the 40th gave Montego Bay a comfortable lead at the break. Despite Racing United's attempts to rally in the second half, MoBay's defense held firm, and they capitalized on late opportunities with strikes from Tyrone Harrison (90+1) and Johan Weatherley (90+4) to seal the dominant win.
The victory moved Montego Bay United to 20 points, level with Waterhouse FC, who climbed to second place with a 2-0 win over Humble Lion in Sunday’s late game. Portmore United slipped to third with 19 points, while Arnett Gardens sit fourth on 18 points following their 1-0 victory over Portmore earlier in the day.
JPL Results – Sunday
Racing United 0-4 Montego Bay United
Vere Phoenix 2-2 Tivoli Gardens
Harbour View 0-0 Cavalier
Portmore United 0-1 Arnett Gardens
Waterhouse 2-0 Humble Lion
Montego Bay United’s clinical performance not only highlighted their championship aspirations but also sent a message to their rivals as the competition for the top spots intensifies. With Waterhouse keeping pace and Portmore and Arnett close behind, the race for JPL supremacy is heating up.
Fans can expect more fireworks as the league approaches its midway point.
Carsley proud of England style shift ahead of Tuchel taking charge
Lee Carsley is proud of the way England's players adapted to a more progressive style during his spell as interim coach, ahead of Thomas Tuchel taking the reins.
England trounced the Republic of Ireland 5-0 on Sunday in their final game before Tuchel takes charge in January, recording their fifth win in six matches under Carsley.
Carsley has been credited with instilling a high-pressing, possession-based style during a successful stint as England Under-21 boss, having overseen the team's European Championship triumph last year.
In their six Nations League matches under Carsley, England's senior side averaged a 69.3% possession share and 624.8 successful passes per match, as well as 16 shots and 1.95 expected goals (xG).
At Euro 2024, their final tournament under Gareth Southgate, the Three Lions averaged 55.4% possession, 536 passes, 10.8 shots and 0.88 xG per match as they finished as runners-up to Spain.
Speaking after his final game at the helm, Carsley hailed England's players for adapting to a new approach seamlessly.
"I definitely felt like I have been out of my comfort zone but not beyond my capabilities," Carsley said. "I never felt at any point I was drowning or I was struggling.
"I've taken the confidence that myself and the rest of the staff will be okay. I think we have got stronger as the windows have gone on.
"You are always learning a lot about yourself when you're in a position you are not used to. I think the most pleasing thing is the younger players coming through.
"We have tried change things. We have tried to adapt and move on the style, the way that we play, the control, the amount of possession we have, the amount of chances we create.
"There has been no resistance to that. If anything, they have taken that on. I think it helps that they have seen the 21s and the way that the 21s have tried to control and score goals."
England's victory was their biggest by a manager in their final match in charge since November 1993, when San Marino were beaten 7-1 in Graham Taylor's last game.
Despite achieving his goal of winning automatic promotion back to League A of the Nations League, Carsley admitted to having some regrets over his only defeat at the helm – a 2-1 loss to Greece at Wembley last month.
"Even though we won five of the six, I straight away go back to that game we should have won at Wembley," Carsley added.
"It's definitely a lonely place in that dugout when you're not winning at Wembley. We’ll keep improving and keeping pushing the players and ourselves."
Italy 'on the right track' despite France defeat – Spalletti
Luciano Spalletti believes Italy are "on the right track" despite the Azzurri ending their Nations League campaign with a 3-1 defeat to France on Sunday.
Adrien Rabiot scored twice and Guglielmo Vicario put through his own net as Les Bleus triumphed at San Siro, with all three goals coming from Lucas Digne set-pieces.
Italy had already confirmed a top-two finish by beating Belgium 1-0 three days earlier, however, so they will join France in the quarter-finals next March.
Despite the result, there were plenty of positives for Spalletti to take from Italy's performance, as his team enjoyed more possession (53.8%), shots (10 to six), expected goals (0.59 xG to 0.39) and touches in the opposition box (20 to eight) than their opponents.
"I believe that we are on the right track, I saw many things we sought in the correct way, but we were influenced by the emotion of the match, we forced the match," he said.
"In the second half the game was managed well, we often had the ball but we have to be cleaner with our ball management.
"The analysis is certainly positive, it is clear that there is something to review. When we return, the group will do this."
Italy were undone by some excellent dead-ball taking from Aston Villa full-back Digne, though, and Spalletti knows they must be more competitive on a physical level in the future.
"The boys wanted to go and challenge the opponent, there you spend energy. The third set-piece created problems for us, then we tried to react to score again, but they are physical," he said.
"Now we will review the situations well, they are one of the strongest teams there is from a physical point of view."
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