Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou has claimed that his side's second half against Fulham was the "worst 45 minutes" of his tenure so far, despite seeing them ease to a 2-0 victory on Monday night.
Goals from Son Heung-min and James Maddison secured a comfortable victory that sent Spurs back to the top of the Premier League table, two points clear of Manchester City and Arsenal after nine matches.
The result also saw Postecoglou break a Premier League record for most points accrued by a manager in their first nine games in the division, with the Australian having taken 23 of the 27 on offer so far.
However, Postecoglou was not entirely happy with his side's performance in the second half especially.
"It was a good result. Fulham are a tough team to break down. In the first half we handled it pretty well, nice and calm. With the chance we had, probably should have had a second and a third," he told Sky Sports News after the match.
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"The second half wasn't great for us. We didn't play anywhere near the levels we can with the ball. Without the ball we were still excellent in terms of our pressing. With the ball we were really, really wasteful. We've been really consistent this year. That's probably the worst 45 minutes with the ball we've had.
"If you're off it just a little bit, I've been around long enough to know it will drag you down pretty quickly. We didn't stay true to the football we want to play and took some liberties with the game which I wasn't happy with.
"It was great for Madders on the back of him working hard defensively which is part of the game we've really impressed on him this year. With the ball, we know what he can do, he's really creative. First half we were really good, I was really happy with the way we stayed patient and waited for our little opportunities to open them up and Madders was key to that.
"Him, along with others in the second half, we lost our discipline a little bit and we can't do that at this level. It's a good little lesson for us."
Maddison was named man of the match following another standout performance, which the summer signing capped with his first goal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
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The playmaker gave the credit to his new manager, particularly for the pressing style that he has implemented since he took over.
"If you look back at the teams he's managed, they've always been front-foot pressing teams. The first day he came in he said pressing high is almost a non-negotiable at any stage of the game," Maddison told Sky Sports News.
"We had a game in pre-season where we went 1-0 or 2-0 up and we kind of stopped pressing and sat in a little bit - and he went ballistic at half time. It was Shakhtar Donetsk here.
"He said that's almost how Tottenham have been in the past, trying to protect a lead. He said it's non-negotiable to keep going and keep pressing, and we go and score three and four."
Tottenham are one of only eight teams in Premier League history to have picked up as many as 23 points from their opening nine games, with four of those going on to win the title.
Postecoglou's side are back in action again on Friday night, when they take part in another London derby against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
Barney Corkhill
