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Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou has urged his side to shed their reputation for inconsistency by proving they can be "relentless" in their pursuit of success.

The north Londoners' habit of failing to fulfil their potential and wasting promising positions, both in matches and throughout seasons, has been dubbed "Spursy" by frustrated fans.

Tottenham, trophyless since 2008, have stuck stubbornly to that script in the first two seasons of Postecoglou's reign.

They blew a golden opportunity to qualify for the Champions League last season and have made an erratic start to the current campaign.

Postecoglou's men squandered a 2-0 advantage in a 3-2 loss at Brighton in their last game before the international break.

It was the 10th time Tottenham had taken a lead of two goals or more and subsequently lost in the Premier League era.

Saturday's London derby against West Ham will bring painful memories of the team blowing a three-goal lead to draw 3-3 in 2020.

But while Postecoglou described the criticism as "irrelevant", he acknowledged the only way to change it is with success.

"You say it's 10 times but it hasn't been 10 times with me so give me a break. Let me get to 10 and then start putting tags on, but you have to accept that, right?" the Australian told reporters on Friday.

"People will always find easy ways, if you've got a wound, to stick their finger in that wound and if you're not prepared to accept that when things haven't gone well, make sure things go well.

"There is one way to change that. If we want to change the perception of ourselves, it will not come because of, 'please don't call us those names', it will come because we're proving we're a team that can be relentless in our approach and be successful."

Postecoglou jokingly said he was ready to "explode" when Tottenham's players returned from international duty for his debrief about the Brighton debacle.

But the film session would have made for uncomfortable viewing for Postecoglou's team, judging by his frustrated summary of ninth-placed Tottenham's third defeat in seven league games this season.

"The second half was more around we just didn't look anything like ourselves. We were really passive with and without the ball. We lacked real conviction and courage in everything we did," he said.

Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou (59) admits he's been brooding over the international break after the defeat at Brighton.

Postecoglou says he's ready to drive his Spurs players hard when they re-assemble for training.

"You never know if it (the international break) is good or bad. Maybe for the players it was good, but I don't like sitting on a loss," Postecoglou told Optus Sport.

"There can be a tendency to over-analyse things. It wasn't a good one. The first half was unbelievable, but I didn't like the second half and what we looked like. It wasn't the loss, it was the manner I wasn't comfortable with.

"I've been sitting on it for 10 days, I'm ready to explode once they get back in the building and that will be my therapy.

"What everyone wants me to do is what everyone else does. I'm not going to do that

"The reason I'm here now is because I didn't do what everyone else does. I wouldn't do anything differently because I've always tried to make decisions that I believe are going to stay true to what we're trying to create.

"What I do know is that people forget the starting point. It becomes really blurred. I don't forget the starting point. That's how I measure progress."

Postecoglou added: "This club has its own unique challenges for sure. Are they more difficult than others? I don't know," he said.

"When I was at Celtic I was expected to win. If you lose one game it's a major problem and not many can cope with that.

"It's just a different challenge for sure. I get why people would say it's the level and the scrutiny is the reason why you're not having success - I don't believe that. I believe we will have success and there's nothing here that makes me think that is insurmountable."