Sonny: “I want to say sorry, and we’ll come back stronger”

Heung-Min Son said the players will take, ‘big, big responsibility’ after our 2-1 loss to Ipswich Town on Sunday, but stated the squad, ‘will come back stronger’ after the international break.

The skipper eluded to a missed opportunity at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, as victory would have lifted us up to 19 points and a share of third in the Premier League alongside Chelsea, Arsenal, Forest and Brighton.

But it wasn’t to be, as a disappointing first half display that saw us trailing 2-0 at half-time left us with too much to do. There was hope of a trademark revival in front of the South Stand when Rodrigo Bentacur powered home a header for 2-1 on 69 minutes but, in truth, we didn’t create enough clear-cut chances after that and it wasn’t until added time that Dominic Solanke found himself in front of goal, denied by Arijanet Muric.

As expected, cutting a dejected figure, here's what the skipper had to say on our Review Show…

Tough afternoon, Sonny, what went wrong today?

Sonny: “Yes, it was a very disappointing afternoon and the result, of course, but the performance as well, we definitely have to be better because we missed this opportunity to go ahead, and we made the game a difficult situation by ourselves, which is very disappointing.”

We just didn’t get started, Sonny...

Sonny: “I mean, before they scored two goals, or even the first goal, we had a couple of chances where we can score the goal and go ahead, but we didn't, and then we conceded two goals, very silly goals, which is also very painful. We know how important it is to defend our goal at home, we didn’t. Look, we all have to take big, big responsibility, and I just want to say sorry about the result.”

Ange Postecoglou spoke about the inconsistency of the results - City, Villa, then today - what’s your view at the moment, Sonny, on the team's form?

Sonny: “We have to believe even more, because I think we could be a really strong team. Everyone saw it, but those kind of games, you have to think about them mentally in a very strong way, Villa, you have to be strong, then you play Ipswich, everyone expects us to win this game but, in football, you never get a free win, you have to earn it, you have to work hard. We have to believe more, be more disciplined, that’s for sure. Everyone has to be more disciplined and follow the structure and the plan. This is the main part of our strength, and we can make it stronger when we come back from the international break.”

Will you stay in touch with everyone through the international break? As skipper are you constantly communicating while people are away?

Sonny: “I’ll try to stay in contact as much as I can, but also the players who are going to their international teams, they have to focus on their country, which is important and a privilege to play for the national team, that’s something everyone dreams of. But, yes, I’ll try to stay in contact, but the most important thing is that everyone comes back healthy and in good condition. I just want to say again sorry for this afternoon, and we’ll come back stronger.”