Ange Postecoglou could not hide his frustration in the City Ground press room on Friday night, despite Tottenham's 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest.
There were no prizes for guessing the reason, after a hard-fought win which kept Spurs in touching distance with the Premier League's pace-setters.
The evening was marred by Yves Bissouma's second red card of the season - further depleting the Australian's squad. Every time Spurs's selection crisis appears to be easing, another player is injured or suspended.
There was a case that Bissouma was unlucky to catch Forest captain Ryan Yates with the toe of his studs as he lunged for a 50-50 - replays showed his eyes were on the ball - but he might have been more canny, particularly with Spurs cruising at 2-0 through goals by Richarlison and Dejan Kulusevski.
The incident looked worse when slowed down in the VAR room, and it was no surprise when referee Jarred Gillett upgraded a yellow card to red after being advised to consult his pitch-side monitor.
Bissouma will be banned for the next four matches - the festive League fixtures against Everton, Brighton and Bournemouth, as well as the FA Cup third-round tie at home to Burnley - before almost certainly heading to the Ivory Coast for the Africa Cup of Nations with Mali.
Their final AFCON group game is on January 24, so the earliest Bissouma is likely to play for Spurs again is the home game against Brentford on January 31.
With James Maddison and Rodrigo Bentancur both sidelined until the New Year and Giovani Lo Celso thought to be a doubt to face Everton on Saturday with a muscle strain, Postecoglou is facing using a makeshift midfield at the weekend and perhaps beyond. Step forward Oliver Skipp or Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.
The head coach declined to criticise Bissouma at Forest, but afterwards admitted his players need to learn to play his football "without crossing line". There is something in that; Spurs are still adjusting to Postecoglou's high-intensity, full-throttle approach and in time their discipline should improve.
Privately, though, it is easy to imagine that Postecoglou is frustrated with Bissouma, who is now preparing for a third suspension of a season which promised so much in the first five or six matches.
Really, Bissouma's campaign has been a disaster since he was sent off at Luton on October 7 for two bookable offences - the second a blatant dive - which disrupted his rhythm and appeared to knock his confidence.
By the time he returns to Spurs, he will have missed at least eight games through suspension or internationals, and Postecoglou's options may look very different.
"Really, Bissouma's campaign has been a disaster since he was sent off at Luton"
Postecoglou has not ruled out signing another midfielder in January, while Skipp is poised to finally get an extended run in the side, particularly as Pape Sarr is also expected at the AFCON with Senegal.
Bissouma has already endured one wasted campaign at Spurs, struggling to make an impression under Antonio Conte following his £25million move from Brighton in the summer of 2022 before a serious ankle injury sidelined him for more than three months from February.
Initially, Postecoglou's appointment kick-started Bissouma's Spurs career, with the new coach earmarking him as a potential leader in the squad in pre-season, but he is now back on the sidelines, albeit for different reasons.
Bissouma will have to get up to speed quickly when he returns to Spurs to ensure this campaign is not another frustrating one.
