Robert Vilahamn has said Tottenham Hotspur need "time" and "patience" after they lost 3-0 at home to bitter rivals Arsenal.
An early strike from Alessia Russo, a goal 20 minutes later from Frida Maanum and a second-half composed effort from Stina Blackstenius secured victory for Renee Slegers' side.
Spurs have now lost five of their past six league matches, leaving them seventh in the table and just four points above bottom. Vilahamn's job is not under threat, but he admits this is the "worst" period he has had in his managerial career.
"It's tough. This is what you need to find ways to be a good leader, to motivate the players, to see the good stuff in it and what is important about it as well. But it's also part of the journey," he said post-match.
"Now we need to find ways to go through this period as well. I think when you looked at the schedule at the start of the season, we knew that we had five top teams in a row and West Ham. We knew that was a tough run.
"I think the bad thing from the beginning was that we lost to Liverpool in added time, then you went into these other two games like, ‘we probably need to take some points here’.
"To be honest, the gap to the top teams is big. they also invest and try to push for their next steps. It's tough games and, to make sure we beat this team, we need to have a really good strategy where we stay in the games for a while.
"The difference from last season was that they had a few really good chances in the beginning. They hit the post and we made some really good saves, then we stayed at 0-0 in the game and built the momentum with the fans. When you receive a goal after one minute, you destroy that momentum that you can build with your fans."
Most notably, Spurs have conceded the opening goal in their past six matches. They have come back to win in just one of them, and Vilahamn highlighted that their self-confidence has taken a hit due to their early struggles in matches.
"It comes down to quality. The opponent finds ways to score early and we aren’t really that aggressive," he admitted.
"I guess it's a big thing with the mental aspect as well. I think self-confidence is a big thing in playing when making decisions and being ready. I think when you have big games in a row where you lose by big numbers, it affects your self-confidence."
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Vilahamn takes blame for tactics
The Lilywhites have now conceded 21 goals in the WSL, the most in the division by four, and those issues were present during Arsenal's second goal.
The Gunners strolled into the final third, Maanum played a one-two with Kim Little and then had acres of space to pick her spot. It felt like a training routine, with players standing still and not reacting quickly.
While it looked like a lack of concentration from Spurs' defence, Vilahamn took the blame, insisting that his tactics were at fault.
I think the second goal is on me because we played a certain style using a really low defence today to make sure we could counterattack," he told VAVEL.
"We worked on it in the week, we had a plan for it. I think the first goal affected our way of being aggressive when you're low. So, I think that goal is actually connected with tactics. It's easy to be passive when you have a lot of players. We should handle it, but it's a way of the tactics."
'Taking the blame' became a broader theme of his press conference, with Vilahamn admitting he got his tactics wrong today.
"I chose to play a 5-2-3 in defence. The reason we did that was because of the performance in the other game to try to make sure we found ways to defend together in the beginning," he outlined.
"If we would have started with the normal shape and perhaps more pressing, who knows? It's hard to say, but, if I could do it again, I might think was it good to go with a five-at-the-back? It didn't work this week."
