Tottenham news: "I think so" - Tudor admits Spurs crisis worse than expected

Tottenham's turbulent Premier League season has a new protagonist in interim manager Igor Tudor, who made his debut in the defeat to Arsenal last weekend.

When asked by a reporter whether the situation was more complicated than he had expected, the former Juventus coach made no attempt to hide the scale of the challenge. "I think so, I agree with you," he said.

Shortly after, he was asked whether this was the biggest challenge of his career. "If I acknowledge the difficulties that exist, probably yes. It is an even greater challenge, so I have even greater motivation to do it [prevent Tottenham from going down]."

Does Tottenham have a "small team mentality"?

The manager's first match in charge ended in defeat to rivals Arsenal, a result that left Tottenham just four points above the relegation zone.

But even before the match against the Gunners, Tudor described Tottenham's situation as an "emergency situation" and stressed that the squad is aware of the predicament the team finds itself in.

"In Italy, they use the expression 'having a small team mentality'. That is the key, always having motivation when you play against big teams. So that is the starting point, of course, and we have worked a lot on that. The players are aware of the situation," he said.

Much like predecessor Thomas Frank, Tudor also refused to use the word "relegation" and pointed out that the club needs to "focus on itself" amid a run of nine games without a victory.

Tottenham trying to cope with injury crisis

Spurs are also dealing with an alarming injury situation. In total, the team are expected to be without 11 players for the match against Fulham on Sunday, March 1: 10 through injury and the suspended Cristian Romero.

The returns of Wilson Odobert and James Maddison, who both suffered anterior cruciate ligament injuries, and Ben Davies, who fractured his ankle, are not expected to happen this season.

Dejan Kulusevski (knee) was expected to return at the end of 2025, but the Swede has still not resumed training and consulted a specialist in early February, with no further update from the club since.

The trio affected by muscular injuries, Pedro Porro, Rodrigo Bentancur and Mohammed Kudus, are expected to return during March, along with Kevin Danso (toe injury).

In April, Spurs could welcome back Lukas Bergvall (knee) and Destiny Udogie (muscular injury).

"It is very difficult... but it is what it is. So, daily work, focus, improvement in everything we need to do, physical condition, mental confidence, performance, and waiting for the [injured] players to return," the manager said.