Ange Postecoglou says his Tottenham players must learn to play his high-intensity football without "crossing a line" after Yves Bissouma was sent off in Friday's 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest.
Bissouma will serve a third suspension of the season after being shown a straight red card for a studs-up lunge on Forest captain Ryan Yates with 20 minutes to play.
Destiny Udogie will also miss Everton's visit on December 23 after a fifth booking of season at the City Ground - his second suspension of the campaign.
Bissouma will be banned for the next four matches - against Everton, Brighton and Bournemouth in the Premier League and the FA Cup third-round at home to Burnley on January 5.
Bissouma is then expected to be part of the Mali squad for the Africa Cup of Nations in the Ivory Coast, with their final group game on January 24.
He is therefore unlikely to feature for Spurs again until late January or February, deepening Postecoglou's selection concerns.
"It's an issue but it's not so much discipline," Postecoglou said.
"I haven't seen a slowed down version but it's just a desperate lunge more than anything malicious. The guys are having to adapt to learn to play our football without crossing a line but I loved the commitment they showed.
"Unfortunately we paid a price because it's not just this game, he obviously misses a big chunk of football but it is what it is."
"These challenges have got to STOP!" ❌ @Gnev2 and @Carra23 react to Yves Bissouma's red card and Spurs' disciplinary issues this season 🟥 pic.twitter.com/Odro4Ltjsw
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 15, 2023
Asked his view on the decision, Postecoglou added: "I think they slowed [the tackle] down [on replay] and they saw what they saw, and we have to cop it."
Richarlison headed home Dejan Kulusevski's superb cross on the stroke of half-time to put Spurs in front and the Swede capitalised on goalkeeper Matt Turner's weak kick to make it 2-0 in the second half.
"He was great," Postecoglou said of Kulusevski. "He’s been great all year to be fair.
"We've played him in a number of positions. We started him off in the middle and he was really good and causing them problems. I thought we were looking really strong through that early bit and created a couple of really good opportunities.
"Then Brennan [Johnson] goes off and we had to put him wide. We know what he can do out there and we’ve been working hard with him to become more of a goal threat.
"We feel that's the one aspect of his game that he still needs to bridge a gap. He’s taken that on board and he’s now getting into positions where he can score goals. He has in the last few games and his general work rate is outstanding but he's got the quality to back it up."
Johnson's return to his former club was cut short when he was forced off after just 30 minutes with a nasty gash to the head. Spurs used a concussion sub, introducing Oliver Skipp, but Postecoglou said Johnson "should be OK" for next Saturday's visit of Everton.
"He's just got a nasty cut to his head, nothing that should keep him out," Postecoglou said. "No concussion, just a cut on his head."
