Tottenham Hotspur have been tipped to “go down” from the Premier League unless new head coach Igor Tudor “quickly addresses” their “biggest” problem.
The north London outfit are in a desperate situation in the Premier League, sitting only four points clear of the relegation zone in 16th.
Tottenham’s relegation fears have increased during a shambolic nine-game winless run in the Premier League, with the appointment of new boss Tudor not having the desired effect against Arsenal in Sunday’s north London derby.
Tudor‘s side struggled to lay a glove on Arsenal as they slumped to a 4-1 home defeat, so they desperately need to bounce back when they visit Fulham at the weekend.
Responding to the loss against Arsenal, former Spurs midfielder Jamie O’Hara explained why the performance against the Gunners was the “complete opposite” of what he was “expecting”.
“I was expecting a bit of a manager bounce. Arsenal had a couple of sticky performances against Wolves and Brentford, so I was expecting the team to go into this game with a high attitude, a bit of passion, fight, relentless pressing, and not letting easy crosses in the box,” O’Hara said on Sky Sports.
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“[It was the] complete opposite. It was miles away from where I thought it was. I know there’s injuries, but the attitude of the players is my biggest concern.
“The attitude to defend, to run, to compete, to not concede goals. That for me is basic 101, and then you can talk about creativity, whether we’re good enough, whether we’ve got the players, the formation, but the basic defending, basic mentality of a football club.
“When you’re down at the bottom, when you’re fighting for results, Spurs haven’t got it. They have not got the stomach for a fight, and it was evident in that Arsenal game, and it was actually embarrassing.”
O’Hara has also explained why he thinks Spurs “will go down” unless they start to show that they have “got the stomach” for the relegation fight.
“When it matters in the Premier League, when you’re fighting for points, they haven’t got the stomach for it. That’s what I’ve noticed, and that’s what needs to be addressed, and it needs to be addressed quickly, because Spurs will go down.
“The teams down the bottom, West Ham, Nottingham Forest, they’ll run. They’ll fight. They’ll scrap, because they know they’re in it. They’ve been in it before. Spurs don’t want to be in it. Players don’t want to be in it. They want to be in the Champions League, playing nice football.
“They’re in a relegation fight, and that for me was the biggest thing that I’ve noticed, especially in the Arsenal game, how embarrassing it was to see. Forget the creativity. Forget the chances that you can create because you’ve got some decent players, that right there [points at running stats], is why Spurs are in big trouble.”