The pressure on Ange Postecoglou's shoulders has only intensified after his Tottenham team let a two-goal lead slip in their 4-3 defeat against Chelsea on Sunday. In need of three points and a good performance after their dreadful display at Bournemouth three days earlier, it all looked so good for the north London club after racing into a 2-0 lead with only 11 minutes on the clock following strikes from Dominic Solanke and Dejan Kulusevski.
Forced to make a change at the back moments later as Cristian Romero sustained a quad issue on his return to the team following a recent foot injury, Chelsea reduced the deficit through Jadon Sancho to ensure it was never going to be straightforward for the hosts. The Blues really upped the pressure on Tottenham after the restart, with Cole Palmer netting two penalties either side of Enzo Fernandez's volley, before Son Heung-min pulled one back in the dying seconds.
Tottenham were their own worst enemy once again as Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr gifted Chelsea penalties after making needless challenges in the area. Despite trailing at the break, many knew that Chelsea were always going to have opportunities to complete the turnaround due to Tottenham's approach and the amount of openings they present to their opponents.
Tottenham's latest defeat means they have a record of six wins, two draws and seven losses from their first 15 games of the 2024/25 Premier League season, leaving them 11th in the table and seven points adrift of Manchester City in fourth. The mixed form of those around them does mean that the team are only five points from fifth as the table is that congested at present.
Spurs look so far off a top-four finish at present, though, and the gap between themselves and the Premier League's top four will only increase in the weeks ahead unless they can finally find an answer to their consistency woes.
Tottenham's injury and suspension issues are killing them right now, with Romero, Micky van de Ven and Brennan Johnson the latest players to exit the field for the Lilywhites. Amid question marks over when Romero will return from his latest injury, Postecoglou did admit that Johnson wasn't feeling well and that Van de Ven felt some tightness after returning to the team ahead of schedule from his hamstring injury.
Bissouma has now joined Rodrigo Bentancur in serving a suspension at present after collecting his fifth Premier League yellow card of the term when bringing down Moises Caicedo in the box for Chelsea's penalty. It means Postecoglou and Spurs will now have to do without the Mali international at Southampton on Sunday evening.
In desperate need of a win to put an end to this dreadful run of results, Spurs, on paper at least, have a decent set of fixtures coming up this week to try and give the team a much-needed boost. However, that's where the danger lies for Tottenham as they will go into the Rangers and Southampton encounters as favourites.
Postecoglou's side are vulnerable right now and both Rangers and Southampton will be sensing an opportunity to heap even more misery on them. First up is a return to Glasgow for the Tottenham boss.
A city where he enjoyed so much success after guiding Celtic to five trophies from his two seasons at Parkhead, the 59-year-old will have his fingers crossed that a return to Scotland sees him obtain three precious points. Rangers fans will be desperate to see his nightmare run continue, though, due to his connections with their fierce city rivals.
Philippe Clement's side do go into the match at Ibrox one place above Spurs despite both boasting the same record from their opening five Europa League games. Rangers' goal difference is better by two, with their impressive 4-1 win away at Nice last time out giving them the edge over Thursday's opponents.
Rangers only defeat in the competition so far came in their 4-1 humbling at home to Lyon, thus indicating that they can be put to the sword if everything clicks into place for Tottenham. The Glasgow side's form of late has improved but they do crucially sit third in the Scottish Premiership table, 11 points behind Celtic after 15 games.
Spurs have already faced a very hostile atmosphere in Istanbul this season and they will face likewise at Ibrox on Thursday evening for the 'Battle of Britain' clash. Just how they manage it is going to be key as they attempt to move ahead of Rangers in the standings and put Sunday's collapse to Chelsea behind them.
Tottenham's return to Premier League action comes away at Southampton in a 7pm kick-off on Sunday evening. Saints currently prop up the table after only winning one of their first 15 games, with that victory coming at home to Everton in November.
Russell Martin's side, just like Tottenham, can be their own worst enemy at times due to their philosophy of building play from the back. The south coast club have already presented a number of avoidable goals to their opponents this season and it could well prove to be their downfall come May.
Chelsea may have gone and put five past them less than a week ago but Southampton have given Manchester City and Liverpool big scares already this season. Martin's side were then on the end of a narrow 1-0 defeat against Aston Villa last Saturday, a game which highlighted they are no pushovers despite their lowly place in the table.
Tottenham haven't always fared too well at St Mary's, notably passing up a 3-1 lead on the south coast in their last meeting that resulted in an incredible Antonio Conte rant in his post-match press conference that paved the way for his departure. In what may look like an ideal game on paper for Spurs as they travel to the bottom club in their hour of need, things are never straightforward in the world of Tottenham Hotspur.
Injuries and suspensions are once again set to limit Postecoglou's options going into this week's fixtures but the Australian must find a way of getting results in both to try and stop the dark clouds gathering over Tottenham Hotspur Stadium right now. Two decent fixtures on paper with Manchester United, Liverpool and a tricky game at Nottingham Forest on the horizon, Postecoglou now more than ever needs results.
Failure to get them and the pressure on his shoulders will only reach new levels altogether.