"In my 14 years as a coach, I've never seen a team like us."
Roberto De Zerbi has been left in disbelief at how 'fragile' his Tottenham side is after their misery continued on Saturday.
Spurs were beaten 3-2 by Aston Villa to drop into the Premier League relegation zone on an embarrassing afternoon.
De Zerbi's side looked to be heading for a 3-0 loss, which would have seen them go five games without scoring a single goal after seeing Mohammed Kudus' tap-in ruled out by VAR.
But late strikes from Conor Gallagher and Jan Paul van Hecke made the result look a lot more respectable on paper.
In reality though, it was another very rough day for Tottenham, who spent over ã300million on transfers over the summer - and their manager seems as confused as their fans.
What has De Zerbi said about Tottenham's defeat to Aston Villa?
Speaking post-match, De Zerbi admitted that he is baffled by his own players following their third loss of the season.
"It's a mental aspect for sure, but they have the right mentality," the Italian told talkSPORT. "They work very well, they are good players.
"It's difficult to explain because, in my career, 14 years as a coach, I've never seen one team like us. So fragile, so inconsistent.
"You're good, or you're bad. You can't be very good in the first 30, 40 minutes, and then concede like this in this way.
"It's tough to accept for me."
De Zerbi has managed nine clubs in his 14 years on the touchline, but he is facing the toughest challenge of his career at Spurs.
What else did De Zerbi say?
The Tottenham manager was also asked if he could explain the 3-2 defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday afternoon.
To which he admitted: "Listen, I'm a coach, but I do not have all the answers...for your question, I have no answer.
"I can say what I think, what I've seen today and I saw my team in the first half play very well, we had chances to score.
"We didn't score and then we conceded the first goal...we have to stay closer and stay stronger, more compact.
"In the second half, after Kudus' goal, I don't know if the players lost energy...now we have to explain another defeat."
De Zerbi added: "Maybe the communication between the players [is the problem], maybe the leaders have to be stronger.
"We need leaders to drive and lead the team...I don't know, I want to speak with the players when I stay with them.
"With Newcastle it was the same, in Liverpool it was the same, with Everton it was the same...we have to find the solutions."
Spurs have played 14 games in total under De Zerbi, winning on just four occasions and losing six in all competitions.
His points-per-game average in North London is 1.14, which is his lowest since 2018 when he was Benevento boss.
Across all of his matches at Tottenham, his side have conceded 19 goals and only managed to score 16.
This season, their two goals in the loss to Aston Villa are their only goals in the Premier League after five games, of which they have failed to win one - losing three and drawing two.