Tottenham are just a point above the bottom three as they remain winless since December with Igor Tudor doing little to improve their fortunes since he arrived
Tim Sherwood claims Igor Tudor "looks lost" as Tottenham boss with the reality of the Premier League setting in - as he begins to air excuses for the team's poor displays despite being adamant they would avoid the drop.
The north Londoners haven't picked up a point since the Croatian came in to replace Thomas Frank with the team in free fall. They have lost all three games he's taken charge of with very little by way of positives to hold onto.
Tudor had never coached in England before landing the Tottenham gig until the end of the season, but came in and was adamant the club would remain in the top flight despite their slide down the table. Sherwood played for and managed Tottenham and believes that Tudor already looks stunned by challenges he's facing in the Premier League.
The ex-player told Sky Sports: "I think he's been slapped straight in the face by the competition in the Premier League. It ain't easy. This is a tough competition. He looks lost at times on the touchline; he knew nothing about it."
Tottenham have been beaten by Arsenal, Fulham and Crystal Palace since their change of manager. It was the defeat to the Eagles last week that saw the fans leaving in their thousands by half-time as their disillusion and frustration appeared to peak.
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Tudor is without a number of his leading lights, the likes of James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski, and has already cited a host of issues that he's inherited. They include his lack of available players, poor fitness levels and shortcomings in every area of the pitch.
Tottenham are by far the worst performing team in the top flight at present. They are without a win in the league in 2026, a run of 11 games that has seen them lose seven and draw four. As a result they now sit just a point above the bottom three with Sherwood noticing that Tudor seems to have changed his tune.
"He's gone from, 'I 100 per cent guarantee we spend next season in the Premier League', to, 'the players are not fit enough, we're not good in attack, we're not good in the middle, we're not good at the back, we need our injured players back to fitness'," claimed Sherwood.
"You've got to get on with what you've got. Forget all that nonsense. Concentrate on the players who are fit at the moment and try and give them a lift. You don't get that [new manager] bounce by having a stick and whacking them with it. Not if the downside looks like relegation.
"You have to give them a cuddle. You have to find the best solution. You have to give them an easy solution to how we're going to play. This is how we play."