Ange Postecoglou accuses Tottenham of lacking bravery during his side’s dismal 4-0 defeat by Newcastle… as he slams Spurs for being ‘nowhere near good enough’ at St James’ Park

Ange Postecoglou accused his Tottenham team of lacking bravery after they slumped to their heaviest defeat of his reign at the club.

Alexander Isak netted twice for Newcastle, with Anthony Gordon and Fabian Schar also getting on the scoresheet, as sorry Spurs saw their top-four hopes rocked at St James’ Park despite having 73 per cent of possession.

‘It’s nowhere near good enough,’ admitted boss Postecoglou. ‘I was concerned with all of it. There wasn’t any part of our game that reached the levels that it needs to for us to be able to play the game on our terms.

‘We allowed them to dictate the way the game was played. A lot of it was self-inflicted by us. We weren’t brave on the ball.

‘We have been really good this year at understanding that when we have the ball we can be a threat – but we shied away from that. We didn’t wrestle control at any stage and we paid a price for that.’

Spurs were thrashed 4-0 by the home side and Postecoglou said they lacked bravery 

The Magpies celebrate the 4-0 win that saw them boost their hopes for a European place 

Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven, in particular, had a chastening afternoon, slipping for Newcastle’s first two goals, then being beaten by Isak for the home side’s third.

But Postecoglou said: ‘That’s the life of an elite footballer – you’re going to make mistakes. I’m sure he’s going to make many more of them in his career.

‘It’s about how you react to those mistakes. I think all of us as a group have a fair bit to learn from today.’

Tottenham have now fallen behind Aston Villa on goal difference into fifth, which may still be good enough for a Champions League place. But they have all the Premier League title chasers – Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City – to play in their final six games.

‘There is no point sitting around feeling sorry for ourselves,’ added Postecoglou.

The Australian can’t watch as his Spurs side falter in the 4-0 defeat at St James’ Park 

Newcastle, meanwhile, are now 10 points behind Tottenham in fifth as they look to qualify for Europe for a second successive season.

‘It was a great performance from the players from start to finish,’ said Magpies manager Eddie Howe. ‘

We’re hopefully returning to somewhere near our best and we’ve got to keep heading in that direction. Six games to go and we will give our best to try and win every one.’