English Premier League (EPL) Tottenham Hotspur head coach Enze Postecoglou said after the loss that "we paid the price for not controlling the game". "We"ll take time to work on it," he said.

Tottenham suffered a crushing 0-4 defeat against Newcastle at St. James" Park in Newcastle, England, on Sept. 13 (ET).

Spurs were in fourth place in the table, having played one game less than Aston Villa (60 points, +17-65 goal differential). However, the four-goal defeat dropped them to 18-6-9 (W-60-D-16-64), leaving them with the same number of points and a four-goal goal differential, dropping them down the table despite playing more games.

The result puts Spurs in a difficult position in the race for fourth place, which qualifies them for the UEFA Champions League (UCL).

Spurs were unable to find a solution to Newcastle"s well-organized pressing on the day and crumbled after conceding back-to-back goals in the 30th, 32nd, and two-minute spans of the first half.

 

"Newcastle played really well today," said Postecoglou. We didn"t reach the level where totosafeguide.com we could control the game and we paid the price for it," he reflected.

There was also a moment when central defender Micky Vander Penn was late in covering the space behind the goal, but Postecoglou was quick to defend his player"s error.

"That"s the life of an elite player," he said. I"m sure Vander Penn will make more mistakes in the future," he said, "but it depends on how he overcomes them. In that sense, we played a very teachable game today," he added, expressing hope.

Spurs, meanwhile, will now have to overcome the preparedness of their remaining opponents in the wake of the defeat. Including against Newcastle, Spurs have been lethargic against teams that have analyzed their style of play well recently.

 

"It"s difficult to come up with a countermeasure right away," said Postecoglou. We will have enough time to analyze," he said.