“Unacceptable”: Spurs put up most disappointing performance of Postecoglou’s tenure

Tottenham produced the most disappointing display of Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs tenure overnight.

The North Londoners were beaten 3-2 by Brighton at Amex Stadium despite holding a 2-0 lead early in the second half.

After Brennan Johnson (23rd minute) and James Maddison (37th minute) provided Postecoglou’s Spurs with a handy buffer, the visitors duly conceded three goals in an 18-minute run.

Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh (48th minute), Georginio Rutter (58th minute) and Danny Welbeck (66th minute) went bang, bang, bang to deny Tottenham a third straight Premier League victory.

Postecoglou described the subdued second-half showing as “unacceptable”.

“That’s probably the most disappointing loss I’ve had since I’ve been here, in terms of the way we went about it, and it’s something I need to assess,” the Australian manager said.

“We didn’t do what you need to do at this level, it’s kind of non-negotiable. We just weren’t competitive.

“We didn’t win our duels, we lacked intensity, we didn’t deliver the things you need to at this level, the basics of the game, and paid the price for it.

“Wherever it comes from, it doesn’t really matter, it’s irrelevant. It’s unacceptable at the end of the day.

“You can kind of understand that you’re not going to win every game, but there’s the manner you lose games.

“That’s the first time since I’ve been here that we’ve lost the game in that manner. And like I said, unacceptable.

“There’s a lot I can do about it. That’s why I’m in the role. If I couldn’t do anything about it, I’d get somebody else to sit here.”

The result has Spurs sitting ninth in the English top flight with 10 points from seven matches, while Fabian Hürzeler’s Seagulls moved to sixth on 12 points.

In other Sunday Premier League action, Chelsea was held to a 1-1 draw by Nottingham Forest at Stamford Bridge while Aston Villa and Manchester United played out a scoreless draw at Villa Park.