Ange makes strange admission that he doesn’t want a ‘reaction’ from Spurs after Crystal Palace defeat

(Photo by Tom Dulat/Getty Images)

Ange Postecoglou insists he’s not looking for a ‘reaction’ from his Tottenham Hotspur players following their disappointing defeat to Crystal Palace.

A 31st-minute Jean-Philippe Mateta strike was enough to consign the Lilywhites to their second defeat in three Premier League matches at Selhurst Park on Sunday.

The result leaves Spurs eighth in the table, already five points adrift of the Champions League places.

This sort of inconsistency is leaving Tottenham in serious jeopardy of missing out on Europe’s elite competition once again, even at this early stage in the season.

And it doesn’t get any easier, with Spurs taking on Man City in the EFL Cup on Wednesday, Aston Villa in the league on Sunday and Galatasaray away in the Europa League a week on Thursday.

Ange Postecoglou wants ‘consistency’ from Spurs, not ‘reactions’

Ange Postecoglou wants ‘consistency’ not ‘reactions’ from his players. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)

Despite the already very high stakes, Postecoglou isn’t looking for a ‘reaction’ to Sunday’s defeat from his players.

Instead, the Australian is focusing on building ‘consistency in performance’ to stop his side lurching between mouth-watering and head-scratching showings.

“I don’t think it is about a reaction,” Postecoglou told reporters at his pre-Man City press conference (via Tottenham’s official website).

“It’s fairly understandable that the players and everyone was disappointed with the way things went for us at Palace, both performance and outcome, but we’ve got to get away from this ‘reactions’ and trying to atone for something.

“Part of the process for us is making sure, every game, we stick to our principles irrespective of what has happened in the past.

“If you wait for reactions for good performances you’re actually anticipating another challenge when you should just be trying to focus on consistency in performance and consistency in mentality of how we approach every game.”