Tottenham’s interim manager Igor Tudor did not attend the post-match press conference following defeat to Nottingham Forest on Sunday as he was informed of a family bereavement.
Spurs were beaten 3-0 by Forest in north London, with goals from Igor Jesus, Morgan Gibbs-White and Taiwo Awoniyi.
The result sees Nottingham Forest climb above Tottenham, leaving Spurs in 17th, just one point and one place above West Ham, who lost at Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon.
While it was a disappointing result, football will seem insignificant for the Tottenham boss after the sad news he received about an immediate family member.
Posting on X shortly after the game, football.london’s Alasdair Gold wrote: ‘Igor Tudor will not be undertaking post-match media duties as he has just been informed of an immediate family bereavement.’
Bruno Saltor, Spurs’ assistant coach, handled media duties in Tudor’s absence, explaining: ‘It’s a personal family issue and obviously it’s a difficult moment for him and we’re just trying to support the best way we can.’
Asked when Tudor learned of the situation, he said: ‘I’m going to leave it there. As I said, it’s a personal matter.’
On the contest and crushing defeat, Saltor told the BBC: ‘If we focus on the result today, it’s a tough one to take. It’s a really difficult one.
‘If you focus on the last two games and the performance in the first half today, we were much better. But small details are going against us right now. The key is how we can be consistent with our performances throughout the 90 minutes.
‘The players care and they get affected. We need to be stronger than that. We need to be focussed on what we want to do. We need to keep improving and getting better.
‘We are in a relegation battle. Everyone knows. We are conscious of it. The players, they know. The most important thing is to be together. The fans showed they were next to us. From the start to the finish, they were outstanding. We felt the support. For us, we need to be stay connected.
‘We need to get even closer when there are problems like a family. That’s the message.
‘Still 21 points to play for. We have shown we can compete against any team. We need to keep improving and getting better to get those points.’
After a huge three points for his side, Forest boss Vitor Pereira told the BBC: ‘We started with a good level. But after 15-20 minutes, we started to lose a lot of possession, second balls and duels. We conceded a lot of set-pieces. We suffered until half-time.
‘In the second half, I asked them to be themselves and play at our level. I asked them to play the same way we started the game and told them something will happen. And I am happy that they played with personality and organisation. It was an important win.
‘I have a team that have the quality to play with the ball. But it’s difficult to play in our way if you lose the ball often. Tottenham were very aggressive in the duels. It was not our intention to defend but they pushed us.’
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