Ange Postecoglou expressed concern over Tottenham's "conviction" in front of goal as they fell to a 1-0 defeat to Arsenal on Sunday.
For the fourth time in four games, Spurs had majority of possession and registered double figures in shots on goal, but struggled to find the back of the net.
Postecoglou took positives from the Lilywhites' performance, but admitted a lack of clinical finishing and slight errors had been costly.
"We had some good opportunities, but we created so many more. We just wasted some of our good play. Similar to our other games where we haven't really had that conviction in the front third to take advantage of.
"Whether it's us winning the ball back or getting into that front third and nothing coming of it. You keep opposition teams in the game when you do that.
"Arsenal are obviously a very big threat at set pieces. It only takes one. It wasn't just [Cristian] Romero, a couple of others switched off as well. The delivery was spot on and Gabriel is always a threat in those situations. We paid a price for it."
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Set piece frustrations
Having conceded nine set pieces last season, including two in the 3-2 defeat to the Gunners in April, Postecoglou was once again asked about the recurring issue.
"I know, I know, for some reason people think I don't care about set pieces and it's a narrative that you can keep going on for ages and ages.
"I understand that. Like I said, we work on them all the time like we do for every other team.
"You know that they're a threat, as I said, for the most part, we handled them really well today, but we switched off for one and we paid a price and you learn from that and you move on."
In keeping with his mantra towards the tail end of his opening campaign, the Australian refocused attention on the grander vision for his Spurs side.
"But it is what it is, you know, it's my burden to carry mate and I'm happy to do that. It's not like, like I've always said, for me, there's a bigger picture that's at play here that's much more important than the finer details of us getting to where we want to.
"For us, the way forward is to try to turn the football we're playing now into something meaningful."
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Acknowledging improvements
Despite four points from a possible nine, there have been glimpses of promise from Tottenham so far this season, such as higher shots taken and average possession. Postecoglou was keen to emphasise these improvements.
"We are a team that is progressing in many areas, with all that progress there are always new challenges and things you need to overcome.
"When I look at the four games in isolation this year, the football is probably more consistent and compelling than our first four games last year but obviously our results don’t reflect that."
"So I think we have made progress in certain areas but there are other areas we need to improve on and that’s my job to fill those gaps as quickly as possible."
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Solanke's difficult home start
Plagued by an ankle sprain following his debut against Leicester City, Dominic Solanke made his first home appearance for Spurs in the proverbial baptism of fire of a North London derby.
"I thought Dom worked hard but, like I said, he hasn't played for over a month, only his second game of the year," Postecoglou said of the Englishman before concentrating on the team as a whole.
"I just thought there were a lot of odd times where if we just had a bit more belief and conviction in that front third that we could have made so much more with our play to create really good opportunities.
"And even the ones we did ... like I said, we lacked some real conviction in their execution to really make the most of them.
"I've just got to keep giving the feedback to the guys, trying to guide them in the right way to make them see that for all their dominance in the game.
"You need to really be clear-headed in those kind of moments and, that's my role to try to guide them in the right way."
