Brighton 3-2 Tottenham: Boss Ange Postecoglou is unhappy with Spurs’ “worst” defeat

Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou described his team's collapse against Brighton in the Premier League as “probably the worst defeat since I've been here”.

Spurs were 2-0 up after 37 minutes and headed for their sixth straight win in all competitions after goals from Brennan Johnson and James Maddison, but conceded three goals in the second half as Brighton took the three points.

“It was disappointing and I am absolutely disappointed,” Postecoglou said.

“It's an unacceptable second half – we were nowhere near where we should be. Maybe we let our approach get the better of us.”

“We kind of accepted our fate and that's hard to understand because we didn't do that while I was here. We usually fight for everything, and if you do nothing, you pay a price.”

Spurs missed the chance to finish sixth in the Premier League and are in ninth place with three wins, a draw and three defeats from seven games.

Postecoglou criticized his team's mentality and team spirit, adding: “Maybe it went too smoothly. Football and life trip you up when you get too far ahead and that’s what it looked like in the second half.”

“It is a terrible loss for us, as bad as it is, and there is only one way to fix it and that is my responsibility.”

“We lost all our duels, we weren’t competitive and if you’re not competitive, no matter what you do tactically, it won’t work.”