It is strange to think that just three weeks ago Mauricio Pochettino's biggest concern was overconfidence, after a winning start to the campaign culminated in a 3-0 triumph at Old Trafford.
Now, after suffering three straight defeats for the first time in his Tottenham tenure, the Argentine finds himself trying to repair damaged morale and inject some belief.
"At 46 years old, loving this game, I understand that some tough periods can arrive," he said after Tuesday's 2-1 loss against Inter Milan. "Of course, I am so disappointed because I told you after Manchester United, 'be careful, be careful,' and the tough period arrived after beating Manchester United at Old Trafford.
"It is my responsibility to try and change that dynamic, but when the dynamic is not good the most important thing is to work harder than before and be strong."
After 2-1 defeats against Watford and Liverpool -- the latter a scoreline that flattered Spurs, masking the gulf between the sides -- it seemed the North Londoners had encountered a vulnerable Inter Milan side at the ideal time. While the Italians have great European pedigree, they are a shadow of their former selves and have lost two of their opening four Serie A fixtures, winning just once. They were placed in Pot 4 for the Champions League draw for a reason.
Tottenham, seemingly scarred by their chastening experience against Liverpool, looked anxious in possession for most of the opening 45 minutes but got away with it. Jan Vertonghen, Davinson Sanchez and Eric Dier all gave the ball away dangerously deep in their own half. Ben Davies, skittish throughout, lost the ball under his feet and over the touchline. Serge Aurier sent a backwards header out for a corner rather than to Michel Vorm.
Despite all of that, Spurs were allowed to find their feet.
They seemed to be undergoing a valuable course of therapy as they gradually improved, took the lead through Christian Eriksen's 53rd-minute deflected strike and repeatedly threatened to extend their advantage. Precious confidence was coming back, and as the clock ticked past 84 minutes, a much-needed, restorative victory was within touching distance.
Then the demons returned. Just like at Watford, Tottenham capitulated, allowing a second-half 1-0 lead to become a devastating 2-1 defeat.
This time their demise was even more startling as the turnaround arrived so late. And, while Mauro Icardi's volleyed equaliser was a wonderful strike, it is an ongoing concern that Spurs conceded the winner from yet another set piece -- the fourth goal they have shipped in such a manner in three matches.
There is sure to have been further mental damage after this.
There was little shame in losing to Liverpool on Saturday. Jurgen Klopp's side were Champions League finalists in May, after all. But Spurs should have dispatched this Inter side. When Barcelona visit the San Siro in November, they could put Tottenham's failure into even sharper focus.
Pochettino has sought to downplay expectations all season, stressing the differences between "perception and reality" around the club and highlighting how fortunate his side were to win 3-0 at Manchester United. Here was an ideal opportunity to ram home his point. Yet he declined to do so.
While he repeated after the final whistle that his team "need to improve a lot," he also described the display against Inter as "our best performance since the start of the season" -- a surprise, even if Spurs missed good chances to put the game to bed.
Pochettino added: "I think we are strong, we have shown that we are going to be the same team as in the past, winning games, that we have the quality. Only for different reasons we were a little bit late in our preparations. We won some games but I was never happy.
"But today I started to see good signs that the team is coming back again, and today we showed great personality, and we controlled a team that is Inter Milan, that is playing in the San Siro, a very difficult place. The team showed big character. It was unlucky at the end that we didn't get the result that the team deserved."
On this occasion it is Pochettino's perception that is questionable -- he seems to be forgetting this latest slow start, which lasted for more than half an hour, and surely throwing away all three points at the death showed a distinct lack of personality and character.
But perhaps he was deliberately donning rose-tinted glasses. Maybe he was consciously pulling his punches when, instead of lambasting his team's set-piece defending as he did against Watford, he said of Inter's winner: "Sometimes you need some luck too and to take the right decision in the right moment. Of course it's so cruel."
After saying on Monday that Spurs will not be "realistic contenders in any single competition" if they play as they did against Watford or Liverpool, maybe this was a deliberate change of tack -- generous praise for his men, rather than another show of displeasure, another dose of "reality."
Whatever Pochettino was thinking, he needs to react and change something, because one thing is for sure -- restoring his players' confidence has become a much bigger problem than keeping them grounded.