Saturday’s 4-0 loss to Tottenham could have veered violently from promise to reflection, with a first-half performance that Steven Gerrard deemed the best of his reign to date not enough to prevent the heaviest loss of the countryside.

But in terms of the bigger picture and the themes that have defined the past few weeks, it was truly groundhog day: another defeat against a Premier League top-eight side, another game where an opponent found goals too easy to achieve, another week where a summer transfer window already shaping up to be critical, it is a little more so.

Although Villa provided glimpses of what they could possibly become, the result confirmed who they are now. As for the club’s long-term goal of fighting for Champions League qualification, it’s likely to take several good recruitment windows before they’re even close. Despite having Harry Kane and Son Heung-min in their ranks, Tottenham are far from assured of a top four finish this season. There are times when the gap between aspiring Premier League clubs and those in the top flight can seem like a chasm.

On Saturday, the Gulf was seen most explicitly on offense. In some ways, Villa could consider themselves unlucky to find Hugo Lloris in inspired form, with the veteran goalkeeper negating both Jacob Ramsey and Philippe Coutinho in spectacular fashion. For the first 45 minutes, the France international arguably kept the visitors in the game.

But Danny Ings and Ollie Watkins failed to hit the mark when they presented themselves with golden opportunities, while Villa keeper Emi Martinez had no chance to match Lloris’ heroics through Son, who converted all three chances that presented themselves with ruthless efficiency.

The South Korea international’s opener in the third minute, a clean first shot inside the post after the ball ricocheted its way, was arguably in the world-class category. Son completed his hat-trick with two goals in the space of four second-half minutes after Dejan Kulusevski extended the advantage.

That goal, five minutes after the break, felt like a hammer blow. Taking advantage of a little too much space offered by Tyrone Mings, Kulusevski slammed a low finish under the Villa captain and inside the far post.

Shortly after, when Ings moved away from his marker and appeared to be on goal, Sergio Reguilon appeared to save the striker from getting a shot.

There was the competition in a nutshell. In the moments that mattered, Tottenham were a bit smoother and quicker. That was all it took to turn a game Villa led for long stretches into a pounding.

Although it was a tough day for Mings, his central defensive partner Ezri Konsa suffered the most. A week after his slip helped set up Wolves’ opener in the loss at Molineux, an undercooked header here led, albeit slightly by chance, to break Son the stalemate. Having then lost an aerial battle with Kane in the build-up to Kulusevski’s goal, Konsa was caught in no man’s land for Tottenham’s third, trying to challenge Kane for a header but failing to come close and opening up space for that Sound could run through.

The 24-year-old was one of Villa’s best performers last season and while this tenure has seen some solid performances, there have been too many below par. He is one of many players heading into the final weeks of the campaign with perhaps a bit to prove.

Villa have now conceded as many goals as they did last season and although midfield is the top priority this summer, Gerrard’s desire is also to strengthen in defense and attack.

When evaluating his team’s backbone, the goalkeeper is the one area that doesn’t need upgrading. The list of unsupervised players is shorter than those who are supervised.

There are seven matches left before any business can be settled and an important period for the manager in terms of retaining the goodwill of the supporters and – more importantly – the full confidence of the board given the scale of the reorganization that he wishes.

Saturday’s defeat was Villa’s fourth on the rotation and another loss in their next game at Leicester would equal their worst run of the season, a streak that saw Dean Smith sacked.

Gerrard is not in danger, but the recent downturn has dampened the momentum of a reign that last month gathered pace on a three-game winning streak.

Villa have now lost half of their 20 Premier League games in charge and have taken just 10 points from the last 10, dating back to February’s 3-3 draw with Leeds. There is only one victory left in the last seven at home.

Reaching the club’s first half for over a decade now seems a tougher proposition with Leicester possessing games in hand. Depending on other results, Villa could be as low as 15th in the table when they visit the King Power Stadium in 12 days.

Saturday’s first half was unquestionably positive and if it were to be repeated in games against the worst performers in the division, it should turn around. Against the top dogs, it’s the same old story.