Igor Tudor believes he watched the best team in the world on Sunday as his Tottenham side were beaten 4-1 by Arsenal.
The new Spurs manager was chucked in at the deep end for his first game in charge, a north London derby against the Premier League leaders.
Arsenal were dominant but Tottenham were game and very much in the match at half-time with the score level at 1-1.
However, the Gunners powered to victory in the second half, with a brace from Viktor Gyokeres and Eberchi Eze scoring his second of the game.
The defeat leaves Spurs 16th in the table and unquestionably in a relegation battle, but Tudor remains confident they will survive in the Premier League.
‘Of course I am confident because I believe these are good players with bad habits. It’s all about that,’ the Croatian told Sky Sports.
‘They are good. Nobody can tell me they do not have quality. But we need to change our mental sharpness. To be in the game from the first minute, and to have the physicality to do this.’
Asked how long it will take him to change his team’s bad habits, Tudor was not sure, but he is sure his side will not face sides of the quality of Arsenal every week.
‘I don’t know. We will see day by day, working and getting better,’ he said. ‘Also the opponent is not be the same, this is probably the best team in the world. We will see next Sunday.’
Tudor repeated the claim in his post-match press conference, saying: ‘This team Arsenal are probably the best team now in the world in this moment, it was not easy.’
Tudor was not critical of his own players, praising their effort and work rate, but said they were competing with a team in a ‘different world’ to his own.
‘The medicine is you look in the mirror, each of us look in the mirror and really start to change the habits. Working hard is the only way,’ he said.
‘I saw the passion, I saw the will. I was not angry because they wanted to do but they were not able to do in this moment. They wanted to do all that we prepared, that’s good, but we need to understand at which moment we are in now.
‘Tuesday, come in, everyone there, stay quiet, stay humble, that’s the key. Try and become a hard-working squad and team, that’s the only goal we have in this moment.’
Tottenham are just four points above the relegation zone with 11 games to play in the Premier League and the manager says he has time to steer them away from danger.
‘Of course it’s enough time,’ he said. ‘This was not a perfect team to play after three or four [training sessions] but in one way we have to see it as something good, see where we need to be, what is the goal.
‘Today, I need to be honest, two totally different worlds. Levels.’
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