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Heung-min Son slates Tottenham's 'attitude' in brutally honest verdict on Fulham defeat

Heung-min Son slates Tottenham's 'attitude' in brutally honest verdict on Fulham defeat

Tottenham captain Heung-min Son laid bare his team’s failings in a brutally honest assessment of Saturday’s 3-0 defeat to Fulham.

Rodrigo Muniz scored either side of Sasa Lukic’s first Cottagers goal to condemn Spurs to a second defeat in four games, as they missed the chance to go fourth in the Premier League table.

Ange Postecoglou’s men were visibly off the pace at Craven Cottage with their performance in stark contrast to last weekend’s four-goal blitz of top-four rivals Aston Villa.

South Korean forward Son insisted post-match that he and his teammates failed to deliver in terms of “attitude and performance” in west London.

“It is very disappointing and very frustrating and everybody has to look in the mirror and say, ‘It’s my fault’,” he told Sky Sports.

“Because it was not good enough and it’s not the level of effort we’ve put in this season. The attitude, the performance were not good enough. For everyone it’s a big, big wake-up call.

“In the Premier League, if you’re not 100 per cent ready you get punished like this. Aston Villa are an amazing team but so are Fulham, everybody has high quality players.

“But if you’re not giving 100 per cent, including me, that’s what you get. You get punished. Especially because last season we had amazing results [against Fulham] doesn’t mean you get three points for free.

“It’s a big wake-up call and the result has happened so you have to make it two steps backwards and make some strong steps forward.

“It is unacceptable but you always have lessons and, including me it was unacceptable, we know where we are - not in terms of [the table] or points - but we’re representing Tottenham. This [game] wasn’t close to where we’ve been all this season.

“It’s very, very sad to watch and very, very sad to get a result like that - and also the fans don’t deserve it. They came here with positive energy and good vibes, and losing this way is very, very tough.

“The players are very down and this is normal, we now have to make it two steps backwards and another strong few steps forward because after the international break we have a massive game.”

In a later interview with the club’s official media, Son apologised to Tottenham’s fans for the display.

“I can’t describe the feeling,” he admitted. “I’m devastated, disappointed, frustrated.

“As the captain of this club I just want to apologise to the fans, they don’t deserve that result and that performance.

“We can’t just give up in these games, we have to give everything we have - including me - we have to do better. After the international break we have to come back stronger than ever.

“I don’t want to blame any player because we weren’t good enough. Fulham did a good job but the goals came of our mistakes. We can talk about it all night but the performance and attitude was nowhere near close to what we’ve put in this season.”