Tottenham Hotspur has spent years acting like they were too strong and too well run to ever be pulled into a relegation fight. Yet, with five games left in the 2025–26 Premier League season, Spurs are in the bottom three, win-less in 2026, and suddenly living week to week.
Sky Sports summed up the headline stat: Spurs are “the Premier League’s only side yet to win in 2026,” a run that has turned from bad form into a full-blown emergency.
Tottenham coach De Zerbi arrives with an urgent message
Roberto De Zerbi has walked into a crisis after his side took the lead twice against Brighton but failed to win. The coach didn’t dress it up.
He told Sky Sports:
We have to be stronger than this result, we have to move on and prepare the next game against Wolverhampton and to try to win the game.
That is not the tone of a coach planning calmly for next season. It is the tone of someone trying to stop the damage before it becomes permanent.
How Spurs got here: ‘catastrophic decisions’
This drop toward danger did not start with De Zerbi. It is the result of months of instability and key calls that have gone wrong.
The Independent said Spurs are “staring into the abyss” after “catastrophic decisions” turned a season that was meant to push forward into one sliding fast in the wrong direction.
The Tudor Interlude made it worse, not better
Thomas Frank’s early optimism faded and his dismissal was sold as a reset. Instead, it exposed bigger problems above the pitch. Igor Tudor came in with a “firefighter” reputation but lasted only 44 days.
Former footballer Tim Sherwood’s description of Tudor’s exit captured the mood around the club, saying he was removed after the Premier League “smacked him in the mouth”.
Home comforts have disappeared
The Spurs’ squad now looks fragile. Injuries have piled up, confidence has drained away, and even their home form — normally a safety net — has collapsed.
The Independent noted that Spurs’ only home league win in their first four matches came against Burnley, and that the decline accelerated after that. The same report recalled how Frank’s call for fans to “get behind us” before Chelsea ended badly, with the performance labelled one of the worst of the season.
Fans have had enough of false dawns
Spurs supporters have seen rocky spells before, but this one feels different because the club’s identity has faded. Even the style that once made Tottenham easy to admire has been replaced by nervous football and weekly damage control.
The Guardian’s Barney Ronay described Spurs as “hollow, confused and in deep trouble”. He points to mismanagement and a run of “stupid” decisions that left the club exposed when it could least afford it.
Five matches to save the season and the club’s status
Spurs are two points from safety with five matches left. That is close enough to escape, but also close enough for one more bad run to finish them.
Relegation would hit on every level: money, reputation, and the ability to keep top players. The New York Times’ Athletic has reported on the potential “cost of relegation”, including wage cuts, sponsorship renegotiations, and the risk of losing key players for reduced fees.
But none of that matters if Spurs do not do the basic thing first: win enough games to stay up.
The clock is ticking
Tottenham still have enough talent to survive. They also have a manager speaking like someone who understands exactly what this fight requires. What they do not have is time.
Five games remain for Spurs to change the story. If they do not, the club that spent years insisting it belonged with the elite may end up where it has tried hardest not to look: the Championship.
Featured image via Manchester City FC