Roberto De Zerbi accused his Tottenham players of lacking fight and admitted they are "not a team" after their new Premier League season began with a chastening 3-0 defeat at Brentford.
Spurs arrived at the Gtech Community Stadium hoping to signal a fresh start after narrowly avoiding relegation last term, with more than £300million expected to be spent on rebuilding De Zerbi's squad this summer.
Instead, their first outing provided a brutal reminder of the scale of the task facing the Italian.
Goals from Keane Lewis-Potter, Vitaly Janelt and Michael Kayode condemned Tottenham to a comprehensive defeat, with Brentford superior physically and repeatedly beating their opponents to loose balls.
De Zerbi was particularly unhappy with that aspect of the performance and delivered a damning assessment afterwards.
"We are not a team yet for a lot of reasons," he said.
"Before you become a team you can't say what you can do.
"We are not in the right physical condition for a lot of reasons.
"Some players came back late from the World Cup. In Australia we don't work in the right way but it is not excuses. It is a normal situation when building a new project."
De Zerbi insisted he retains faith in his squad but made clear their lack of aggression at Brentford was unacceptable.
"I don't want time but we have to pass through these problems. I cannot lose confidence in my players," he continued.
"I believe in my players, my club, myself. We are working well. We have to improve quickly.
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"We could fight stronger than we did today. We lost too many duels today.
"We arrived second in the second balls. We didn't win one second ball, one duel, one tackle."
Tottenham's starting XI had an unfamiliar look, with Andy Robertson, Jan Paul van Hecke, Marcos Senesi, Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali all making their debuts.
Further reinforcements are expected. Spurs are closing in on deals for Manchester City attackers Omar Marmoush and Savinho as their ambitious summer overhaul continues.
But De Zerbi warned that expensive signings alone will not solve Tottenham's problems.
"There are steps to become better," he added. "Now the target is to become a team.
"You can't become a team from the transfer market on paper. You become a team when the players find a connection, a spirit, a soul. It's a project."
The Spurs boss was also without Pedro Porro, Kevin Danso and Micky van de Ven, while Rodrigo Bentancur was restricted to a place on the bench after returning late during pre-season.
For Brentford, meanwhile, it was an emphatic opening statement in Keith Andrews' second campaign in charge.
Summer arrival Mamadou Sangaré produced an outstanding midfield display following his £39m switch from Lens, earning glowing praise from Andrews.
"The club deserve a lot of credit for getting that deal done," he said.
"You've seen today what he's capable of, the attributes he has.
"I really enjoyed his performance today. He's slotted in really well.
"He's a humble young man who's very, very hungry."
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