Ange Postecoglou makes demand of Tottenham players after derby defeats

Tottenham head coach Ange Postecoglou says his struggling side's "need to go through" tough spells to develop, as they prepare for another big game at Liverpool on Sunday.

Spurs have lost to their two biggest rivals this week after Sunday's 3-2 home defeat to Arsenal was followed by Thursday night’s 2-0 reverse at Chelsea, sealed by headed goals by Trevoh Chalobah and Nicolas Jackson either side of the interval.

Fifth-place Spurs still trail Aston Villa by seven points with a game in hand but their hopes of a top-four finish are fading ahead of the trip to Anfield.

"I'm sure [the players are] hurt but it's also part of the process," Postecoglou said on Friday morning.

"Every job I've taken has had tough bits sometimes at the start, sometimes in the middle, sometimes at the end.

"Nothing surprises me and it's a necessary part of it. It's how you grow. You don't grow by thinking everything's going to run smoothly. You need to go through these times and find out about yourself.

"When there is change, it's not easy, it's not smooth and it's not supposed to be. If you're really going to build for success, you need to go through tough times.

"You don't go out trying to fashion them, you don't create the tough times on purpose but you have to go through them.

"If someone can show me a team that hasn't been through a tough spell when they're building something, I would be very surprised because it's a necessary part of the process. You need to go through that.

"You need to understand how you will deal with that. Who deals with it well? Who doesn't deal with it well from a football perspective, or a club perspective or a staff perspective? All those kind of things reveal themselves and it is part of the process."

Postecoglou admitted at Stamford Bridge that some of his players have "lost belief and conviction" in his high-risk, attacking football.

Asked why, he said: "There's a number of reasons and they all may be individual, so it's not a blanket.

"It's not surprising either because it's part of the nature of change. Change is difficult, it's relentless, it's uncompromising, it's challenging, it doesn't leave you a lot of leeway to feel comfortable. It's part of that process and my job is to navigate through that."

Postecoglou will assess his squad at training this afternoon, with concerns over the form and fitness of a number of players — including captain Heung-min Son.

"It's been a big challenge for Sonny this year on a lot of fronts," he said. "Not just the game, but the leadership also.

"It's only natural there would be some point where and again he's got to embrace this challenge because it's not going to change.

"There isn't a point if you want to be successful where the relentlessness of that changes.

"So, you need to embrace that, understand that and knowing Sonny he will do just that. He will find a way to work his way through it."