The Tottenham Hotspur interim head coach has been speaking about the club and one word was notable by its absence
Igor Tudor appeared to make a concerted effort to avoid one key word during his first interview as Tottenham's interim head coach.
The Croatian delivered a strong first address to the Spurs fans in his five-minute club interview on Tuesday and will speak to the media at his first press conference at Hotspur Way on Friday afternoon ahead of his debut in the dugout for the North London Derby on Sunday at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Tudor has replaced Thomas Frank after the Dane was sacked just seven months into the job with Tottenham sitting 16th in the Premier League table and just five points above the drop zone. The club's fans never really took to the former Brentford boss and many pointed back to his first press conference when he came out with a phrase that would ultimately define his tenure.
"I promise you one thing, one thing is 100% sure, we will lose football matches," said the 52-year-old and Spurs did, many times.
It was noticeable that Tudor did not mention losing or defeats even once during his first interview and the 47-year-old is likely to steer away from any such associated words on Friday at his Premier League press conference debut.
"Big challenge for me, big honour to be here, I'm very happy. In the same way, I don't think too much about myself, because I'm focused on work to do. Wherever you go, it's always about your relationship with the place, with the team, with the town," said the former Juventus boss.
"There are a lot of similarities, even if this is like the NBA of European football, this is the best of the best, so it's a privilege to be here. First priority is to give everything the team needs in these moments. The team needs, I believe, first of all to get some confidence, to get some courage, but also in the same way, the concrete things in the pitch.
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"Of course, I'm coming here knowing the situation is not easy, there's no time to find excuses. What I said from the first day here, each of us, each of the players, need to give something, something more, something extra, because the position of the club at this moment is not that anybody can accept. Every fan of Tottenham cannot accept the situation.
"We are aware of that, but it's not enough to just be aware of that. I like to be positive, I like to play offensive football. Of course, that's my first goal I have, that I like to score the goal, but in the same way, for sure, I need to give organisation in defence, give the clear structure of what you want to play."
He added: "I believe that in football, in 2026, it's changed a lot. It's changing year by year, so more physical players, let's say, it's crucial. If you can run 115 kilometres as a team, it's better than 105. That means that you have one player extra, so there is nothing strange to choose that direction, of course. It's always about motivated players that understand this thing about running, about the physical aspect of football, which is sometimes not easy.
"But that without quality, you cannot do nothing. So, technical skills, intelligence to see, to recognise the situation, speech is always above everything. So, you need to find a mix about both things. And about winning or drawing, that's true. I never saw the coach who said that he can play for draw. It's not possible. So, offensive football, yes, but smart. So, that's the key."