Tottenham have three players who need dropping after dismal Ipswich defeat

boss will have plenty of food for thought over the upcoming international break. The north Londoners are already three points adrift of the Premier League's top four and missed a huge chance to close the gap on Sunday.

They were beaten at home by Ipswich, who were the only winless side in the division before claiming their first top-flight victory since 2002. Sam Szmodics and Liam Delap were on target for the Blues, with Rodrigo Bentancur pulling one back for Spurs after the break.

It was a sobering defeat for Tottenham, who will face a tricky run of fixtures when league football returns later this month. They will go up against Manchester City and Chelsea in two of their next three games, which is a daunting prospect for any team.

Their dismal display against Ipswich shone a spotlight on three players who could benefit from a spell on the sidelines. Radu Dragusin was Tottenham's worst performer, losing several battles in the air and making a crucial error which led to Delap's goal.

The 22-year-old failed to react when Guglielmo Vicario pushed the ball against him, allowing Delap to rush in and score. It proved to be the decisive goal for Ipswich, who climbed out of the relegation zone by taking all three points against the odds.

Tottenham will be hoping for the injured Micky van de Ven to return after the international break, which will see Dragusin return to the bench. He was simply not good enough against Ipswich and will certainly need to improve if he wants to start more games.

The same could be said for Timo Werner, who was introduced late on but failed to make an impact on the match. He wasted a golden opportunity to equalise in the closing stages when he lost all composure and blazed over the bar from the edge of the box.

Werner has lacked an end product throughout his career and justified his unwanted reputation with his muted display against Ipswich. It seems unlikely that he will be in contention to start the next few games based on his shortcomings on Sunday.

Brennan Johnson could also reap the rewards of being taken out of the limelight, with his purple patch in front of goal now a thing of the past. He went on a brilliant scoring run earlier in the campaign but has only found the net once in his last four Premier League appearances.

A break might be just what the Welshman needs to rediscover the spark which has fizzled out in recent weeks. In any case, there will be plenty for Postecoglou to consider before Tottenham seek a return to winning ways at the Etihad Stadium.