Here's every single word the Tottenham Hotspur interim head coach said at his press conference ahead of the match against Crystal Palace
Igor Tudor faced the media at his press conference on Wednesday afternoon ahead of a big Premier League game against Crystal Palace.
Thursday's match could define what comes next for both Tottenham and the Croatian in the weeks ahead after two defeats against Arsenal and Fulham with no improvement over what came before under Thomas Frank. Fortunately for Spurs, most other teams around them at the bottom of the table have been losing as well.
That means a victory against Palace at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Thursday night would seem them take an important jump away from peril.
Tudor gave injury updates when asked about Djed Spence, Destiny Udogie and Dejan Kulusevski and he spoke about Mathys Tel and winter signing Souza, who have found minutes hard to come by.
Our Spurs correspondent Alasdair Gold was among those putting the questions to Tudor. Here's the full transcript from the press conference at Hotspur Way.
What's the latest team news? How is Djed Spence?
No Djed is out, he's not ready for the game tomorrow.
Any updates on Udogie or Kulusevksi?
No, not yet. Kevin (Danso) is back, last game already. Yeah, so he's back. No other news. There is no other news.
How are you feeling after Fulham game as you were angry?
Better now. I feel better. Of course, after the game, there are emotions. There are disappointments because you work, you want, and the players also work hard and want you to do, but the result didn't come. So, of course, it was a little bit disappointing, but it's how it should be after the games. You need to be angry and disappointed. You don't need to be the guy who comes there and says everything is perfect, smile, and nothing happens.
Also, to send a message to everyone, me personally, and everyone to not accept this situation. But we go on, we move on. We have a good, short period to prepare this game, but I saw the guys reacting well. We need to be optimistic for tomorrow's game. We play at home against a good team, but still our stadium with our fans, so we want to do tomorrow a good game.
After the performance at Fulham, are you tempted to change a lot about the team and tactics?
No, we need to choose the right players of course. There are a lot of things to improve, you work day by day, you see that the players want to come, that's the thing that makes me positive, makes me believe that we will do it.
That's the key in the end, waiting for other players to come back to give something to the team. Like Pedro [Porro], last game he came out and immediately you see that he gives something to the team-mates, so Kevin [Danso] is coming back, we're expecting Cuti [Romero], [Destiny] Udogie who will come back, Djed [Spence] will come back, so it's important to have all pieces together.
All the teams in the Premier League struggle without seven, eight, 10 players, so it's not that the other teams, when they have players to complete, it's one team where they don't have so it is how it is. So we're waiting for the players to come back to give the energy, to give the quality, until now, until then we work to do things better.
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A lot of people are calling this a must-win game, is that how you feel?
No, there is no must-win game, all the games need to be won, we need to be first of all doing the right way, doing the best thing you can do. Thinking about [this], I always say this, don't bring nothing in the way that, you need to prepare, think about you, you, to understand who you are as a team, what the players need, what the players can give to be better as a team, to prepare in this way and then that will be good.
Is there a timeframe for Djed?
We hope for Champions League.
I interviewed Yves Bissouma yesterday and he said the players have to stay united, stay calm when the results are so bad at the moment. Are you seeing a group of players who are remaining calm when you're on the training pitches? Are they looking confident?
No, I look confident because I saw they want to do, want to do the things, they want to do together. We are speaking all day about what to do, how to do, to evolve, you know, to get from them a reaction, you know, in the small things, 1%, 2%, 5%, you know, in the end, always we think about that each of us need to give something extra but sometimes small things are enough because we are in 20 players plus coaches so if you multiply 1% it's a lot, it means a lot so we work on all things and that's what makes me feel good for the future.
Yves also said he'll understand if there are nerves amongst the fans tomorrow because in the last few games the team have conceded first so how important will a good start and a fast start be?
Yes, it's important to start good but even to finish good. So all details count, you know, everything is important.
You said there about everyone after Sunday needed to be angry, you needed to get the message over to the players, you felt that it was right to be angry. Can you explain that, why you being angry after a defeat would help a player?
To not accept defeat as something normal, first reason and last reason, that's why the reason when you play with, it's about mentality, when you play with your friend you can have mentality. Okay we go to play tennis and then we lose, okay it's the same for me or you can be different, you know.
So for sure in this moment we need to recognise this but also to have belief that we have quality to do it. So my point is to give both things to the team, you know, and that's how it works, this job, this sport. So I'm trying to touch them in all kind of things I can touch, you know, and as I said I saw the good will from the side to change things, we need something, we need small details, we need something to change of course, but I saw small progress, so tomorrow we need to keep going in the direction that I believe we will take and make one good performance as a team.
The noise is that Spurs could get relegated, but if they beat Palace they could go a long way towards all that being silenced, so is this not the most important game Spurs have had for a long time, maybe since they won a trophy last May?
Yeah, of course I don't agree with you, these are all the things that don't matter for the players in the way that these are nice things to think, to speak in television, maybe in the bar and do these things, you know. We in the dressing room we don't think in this way, we are not focused on direction that others maybe can take to discuss about this kind of thing you are speaking about.
We are thinking about what to do better, how to work on mentality, how to work on defending better, you know, how to give some aggressivity to take the second ball, you know, how to be dangerous in the front, these are things we are speaking, we are thinking, we are enforcing these things, you know, all these, as I said these are all the things. The fans can speak between them and journalists and you as well, but we try to not, our thoughts don't go in that direction.
The players aren't speaking...
They are speaking, they start to speak now, yeah, yeah, they start to speak [and become more vocal in the dressing room].
Isn't the all important thing getting three points, not how you play?
I agree with you. It's all about three points. It's all about three points. I said it already before the last game, you know, when you are in this moment like you are, of course it's all about three points, especially in the [end of] leagues when they last seven, eight, ten games, for sure it's that.
When you start the season, then you make programmes, you choose the player, you choose the style you play, then you have two months to work on that, that totally different moment, you know, then you can think about how beautiful you can be now after the last ten games, it's totally different, you know, totally different state of mind and you need to choose the right things to do.
Mathys Tel made an impact on Sunday, he often does when he comes on but has only started six Premier League games – why do you think that is?
I chose what I think in that moment is best for the team. It does not mean he is not part of first XI, football change in five minutes, one game, two games and everyone, I like to say and coaches do, everyone puts themselves in the team. The coach needs to choose what he believes in this moment, but with five changes, with five substitutes, football change and so I always speak about that.
Today they are not substitutes because when you change half of the team, it is half of the team who is coming in and half who is coming out. It is a totally different point of view for the players and sometimes it is difficult to understand this because everyone wants to start. What I recognise here and especially in this league, there is a special game in the last 15-20 minutes.
It is always a game within a game. Probably for them (substitutes), it is not easy to understand and of course no one wants to accept, I am the same but in games, a lot of games are decided in the last 20 minutes.
Souza came on as well, is he ready for the Premier League?
He was good, I saw something in him. He is there and waiting for his moment to play.
Your assistant at Juventus and Lazio, Ivan Javorcic, is he coming to join you?
Yes, it is an ongoing thing. We wait. Still we wait.
Is it a work permit issue?
Yeah, yeah. We are waiting.
Can I ask about the reaction from Sunday, you said you were happy with the players' reaction?
About effort they put into the training, about the will to speak to change things.
Do the players understand the seriousness of the situation?
Of course, everyone understands the situation, but we are working hard to change this otherwise there is something wrong if you don’t understand. Of course my job is to put the pressure away, but their job is also to accept this pressure as part of the job. Pressure is everywhere, but you need to love this job, you need to enjoy this job like you did when you start at 10-years-old to do this sport, so you don’t need to forget that this in the end only sport. Real pressures are other jobs.
You know that is real pressure, families when they make and you earn money for the family. Work jobs like doctors who make operations. They are dealing and decide about life and death. That is the real pressure. This is sport. The club, Tottenham, has always been like a club with big pressure so you need to be ready to accept this and stand up. Not stay behind. Take responsibility and have courage to confront these things. Not when something come to you, you go in the direction of that (away) - don’t step back.
This is the best way to do and only way to do. So, I hope we have and I am sure because I saw in training that we have these men to step up and take responsibility and make us start doing first of all good performances and after also win points.
From what you’ve seen over last two-and-a-half weeks, are you satisfied that the squad you have is not too good to go down?
Yeah, I believe. I believe, I said before, of course I believe.
What have you and the coaches done this week to try to lift the confidence of the squad this week?
The questions today are all very similar and all very same, so I give the answers always the same answers. I can only repeat the things you ask me. What we are working, what we are aware, there is nothing else to tell. I can only repeat the same things.
Going back to the Arsenal game, you didn’t get the result but the atmosphere created by the fans helped drive the team on for an hour, how important are they on Thursday?
Very important, very important. The players feel everything. Every small murmur they recognise immediately, every applause, every encouragement and so sometimes I like that each of our fans feel that in the pitch. They will understand how the energy is spreading, how the energy can contain the players and I am sure they will stand with us tomorrow and we will show what we need to show.