Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Igor Tudor insisted he saw enough in Tottenham's defeat to Crystal Palace to increase his belief that they will avoid the drop.
Tottenham are in crisis and facing the real possibility of relegation after they crumbled to a shocking 3-1 defeat at home following Micky van de Ven's sending off.
Spurs led 1-0 but collapsed after Van de Ven was dismissed, meaning Tudor has lost all three of his games in charge. Spurs - last relegated from the top flight in 1977 - are just one point above the drop zone and face Liverpool at Anfield next in the Premier League
"I understand the fans, they wanted more," he said after the game. "We also wanted more. The red card changed everything.
"It might sound strange, I believe more after this game than I believed before.
"I saw something. I need to choose the right guys because the boat is going in the direction that I need to go, and who is in the boat can stay, otherwise [they] can leave the boat.
"When the other players come back, I'm sure we'll have a good team and come back. It's not easy to accept the moment we are in now."
Spurs' odds of relegation now sit at 19/10, equating to an implied probability of 35 per cent they'll be playing in the Sky Bet Championship next season.
When Tudor was asked whether or not he would be in charge for the next game away at Liverpool, he said: "No comment on that question."
Tottenham news & transfers⚪ | Spurs fixtures & scores
Got Sky? Watch Premier League games LIVE on your phone📱
Not got Sky? Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW📺
Sky Sports' Lewis Jones:
"Just 21 days into the reign of Tudor and already a question hovering above the boardroom is one that sounds faintly ridiculous when spoken out loud: can they sack him already?
"Football, though, has never been a place where ridicule stops decisions being made.
"The numbers don't care about timelines or reputations. The Premier League table simply deals in points, and right now Spurs are collecting far too few of them. Each week the cushion shrinks. The odds are dropping. Each week the conversation shifts from 'this will turn' to 'this needs fixing quickly' to 'Lincoln is quite nice at this time of year.'
"And when panic starts to creep into a relegation scrap, clubs reach for the lever they believe can create the quickest jolt - the manager.
"It's the one move a board can make immediately. They can't sign five players tomorrow morning. They can't rewind the season. But they can change the voice in the dressing room.
"Sacking a manager after three weeks might be their only rational move. Three weeks can really be a lifetime in football."
Spurs' next six fixtures
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Sorry, this blog is currently unavailable. Please try again later.
Back to Home
This content is provided by , which may be using cookies and other technologies. To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies. You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable cookies or to allow those cookies just once. You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options. Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to cookies. To view this content you can use the button below to allow cookies for this session only.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Tottenham are in crisis and facing the real possibility of relegation after they crumbled to a shocking 3-1 defeat at home to Crystal Palace, following Micky van de Ven's sending off.
Igor Tudor is just 21 days into the job but looks to have no solution.
Spurs - last relegated from the top flight in 1977 - are just one point above the drop zone and it's Liverpool at Anfield next in the Premier League. But every game now looks enormously difficult for a Spurs side on a club-record 11 league games without a win.
They blew the chance for a victory in this derby spectacularly. Archie Gray's exquisite footwork to tee up Dominic Solanke was a brief moment of hope for the home fans.
That opener came just moments after Palace had seen Ismaila Sarr's deflected strike ruled out for an offside check which appeared to judge his face ahead of play. But the real swing in momentum came when Sarr got in behind the Spurs defence again and Van de Ven tugged him back.
Penalty. Red card. A second Spurs captain in five games heading for the tunnel before half-time. Sarr coolly rolled in the spot-kick and it cued a Spurs collapse.
As it happened | Teams | Stats
Live Premier League table | Watch FREE PL highlights
Got Sky? Watch Premier League games LIVE on your phone📱
Not got Sky? Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW 📺
The difference in intensity between the two teams was laid out for Palace's second, with Evann Guessand beating Pape Sarr to Mathys Tel's poor pass before Adam Wharton glided in to feed Jorgen Strand Larsen. The England playmaker had time and space to find Sarr for a third before the break, sparking a mass exodus from the home sections.
Guglielmo Vicario - who had allowed Strand Larsen's shot to go through his legs and Sarr to lift the third over him - was booed by his own fans who had stayed. And not for the first time this season.
Spurs' players at least showed some fight in the second half to limit the damage - but they looked out on their feet, down to 10, ravaged by injuries and with confidence on the floor.
Next comes a brutal and defining run of games through Tuesday-Sunday-Wednesday-Sunday, including a relegation six-pointer with Nottingham Forest and Champions League ties away and then home to Atletico Madrid, around that trip to Liverpool.
They must somehow find something from somewhere or it could be Championship football in this billion-pound stadium next season.
Spurs' next six fixtures
Tuesday March 10: Atletico Madrid (A) - Champions League, kick-off 8pm)
Sunday March 15: Liverpool (A) - Premier League, kick-off 4.30pm (live on Sky Sports)
Wednesday March 18: Atletico Madrid (H) - Champions League, kick-off 8pm
Sunday March 22: Nottingham Forest (H) - Premier League, kick-off 2.15pm (live onSky Sports)
Sunday April 12: Sunderland (A) - Premier League, kick-off 2pm (live on Sky Sports)
Saturday April 18: Brighton (H) - Premier League, kick-off 5.30pm (live on Sky Sports)
Spurs' sorry stats
Tottenham Hotspur have failed to win 11 successive league games for the first time since October 1975 under Terry Neill (D7 L4).
Tottenham Hotspur have lost five successive Premier League matches for the first time since November 2004 (run of six).
Igor Tudor is just the second Tottenham Hotspur head coach in Premier League history to lose each of his first three games in charge after Martin Jol in November 2004.
Only in 1935 (first 15 games) have Tottenham Hotspur endured a longer winless run in league football to begin a calendar year than their 11 matches in 2026 so far.
Tottenham Hotspur have conceded 2+ goals in nine successive league matches for the first time in the club's history.
Tottenham Hotspur's Micky van de Ven received his first red card for the club in all competitions (86th appearance), while in the Premier League this season, only Chelsea (7) have had more red cards than Spurs' four.
Tudor: I believe more now
Speaking after the game, Tudor insisted he saw enough to increase his belief that Spurs will avoid the drop.
"I understand the fans, they wanted more," the Croat said after a third straight loss since taking charge. "We also wanted more. The red card changed everything.
"It might sound strange, I believe more after this game than I believed before.
"I saw something. I need to choose the right guys because the boat is going in the direction that I need to go, and who is in the boat can stay, otherwise [they] can leave the boat.
"When the other players come back, I'm sure we'll have a good team and come back. It's not easy to accept the moment we are in now."
Glasner pleased with Palace progress
Meanwhile, Palace boss Oliver Glasner said he was pleased with his side's progress after a second successive win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
"We had more time in the last weeks to train again, integrate the new players," he said.
"We can see the new players are knowing the way we want to play better and better.
"It's not my right to talk about Spurs. I talk about Crystal Palace.
"I remember we lost 3-1 here. And we had no chance to win this game. They were so much better and when I see the last two games we've won here, I think we were better than we were and that's the development of Crystal Palace, and that's what I'm looking at."
Story of the match in stats
What's coming up in the Premier League?
Tottenham are in crisis and facing the real possibility of relegation after they crumbled to a shocking 3-1 defeat at home to Crystal Palace, following Micky van de Ven's sending off.
Igor Tudor is just 21 days into the job but looks to have no solution.
Spurs - last relegated from the top flight in 1977 - are just one point above the drop zone and it's Liverpool at Anfield next in the Premier League. But every game now looks enormously difficult for a Spurs side on a club-record 11 league games without a win.
They blew the chance for a victory in this derby spectacularly. Archie Gray's exquisite footwork to tee up Dominic Solanke was a brief moment of hope for the home fans.
That opener came just moments after Palace had seen Ismaila Sarr's deflected strike ruled out for an offside check which appeared to judge his face ahead of play. But the real swing in momentum came when Sarr got in behind the Spurs defence again and Van de Ven tugged him back.
Penalty. Red card. A second Spurs captain in five games heading for the tunnel before half-time. Sarr coolly rolled in the spot-kick and it cued a Spurs collapse.
As it happened | Teams | Stats
Live Premier League table | Watch FREE PL highlights
Got Sky? Watch Premier League games LIVE on your phone📱
Not got Sky? Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW 📺
The difference in intensity between the two teams was laid out for Palace's second, with Evann Guessand beating Pape Sarr to Mathys Tel's poor pass before Adam Wharton glided in to feed Jorgen Strand Larsen. The England playmaker had time and space to find Sarr for a third before the break, sparking a mass exodus from the home sections.
Guglielmo Vicario - who had allowed Strand Larsen's shot to go through his legs and Sarr to lift the third over him - was booed by his own fans who had stayed. And not for the first time this season.
Spurs' players at least showed some fight in the second half to limit the damage - but they looked out on their feet, down to 10, ravaged by injuries and with confidence on the floor.
Next comes a brutal and defining run of games through Tuesday-Sunday-Wednesday-Sunday, including a relegation six-pointer with Nottingham Forest and Champions League ties away and then home to Atletico Madrid, around that trip to Liverpool.
They must somehow find something from somewhere or it could be Championship football in this billion-pound stadium next season.
Spurs' next six fixtures
Tuesday March 10: Atletico Madrid (A) - Champions League, kick-off 8pm)
Sunday March 15: Liverpool (A) - Premier League, kick-off 4.30pm (live on Sky Sports)
Wednesday March 18: Atletico Madrid (H) - Champions League, kick-off 8pm
Sunday March 22: Nottingham Forest (H) - Premier League, kick-off 2.15pm (live onSky Sports)
Sunday April 12: Sunderland (A) - Premier League, kick-off 2pm (live on Sky Sports)
Saturday April 18: Brighton (H) - Premier League, kick-off 5.30pm (live on Sky Sports)
Spurs' sorry stats
Tottenham Hotspur have failed to win 11 successive league games for the first time since October 1975 under Terry Neill (D7 L4).
Tottenham Hotspur have lost five successive Premier League matches for the first time since November 2004 (run of six).
Igor Tudor is just the second Tottenham Hotspur head coach in Premier League history to lose each of his first three games in charge after Martin Jol in November 2004.
Only in 1935 (first 15 games) have Tottenham Hotspur endured a longer winless run in league football to begin a calendar year than their 11 matches in 2026 so far.
Tottenham Hotspur have conceded 2+ goals in nine successive league matches for the first time in the club's history.
Tottenham Hotspur's Micky van de Ven received his first red card for the club in all competitions (86th appearance), while in the Premier League this season, only Chelsea (7) have had more red cards than Spurs' four.
Tudor: I believe more now
Speaking after the game, Tudor insisted he saw enough to increase his belief that Spurs will avoid the drop.
"I understand the fans, they wanted more," the Croat said after a third straight loss since taking charge. "We also wanted more. The red card changed everything.
"It might sound strange, I believe more after this game than I believed before.
"I saw something. I need to choose the right guys because the boat is going in the direction that I need to go, and who is in the boat can stay, otherwise [they] can leave the boat.
"When the other players come back, I'm sure we'll have a good team and come back. It's not easy to accept the moment we are in now."
Glasner pleased with Palace progress
Meanwhile, Palace boss Oliver Glasner said he was pleased with his side's progress after a second successive win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
"We had more time in the last weeks to train again, integrate the new players," he said.
"We can see the new players are knowing the way we want to play better and better.
"It's not my right to talk about Spurs. I talk about Crystal Palace.
"I remember we lost 3-1 here. And we had no chance to win this game. They were so much better and when I see the last two games we've won here, I think we were better than we were and that's the development of Crystal Palace, and that's what I'm looking at."
Story of the match in stats
What's coming up in the Premier League?
In his first press conference as Tottenham Hotspur manager, Igor Tudor said he was 100-per-cent confident that Spurs would avoid relegation. Ten days later, the mood has changed.
Back-to-back defeats in Tudor's first two games in charge against Fulham and Arsenal have forced a change of tune from the Croatian boss.
"We lack when we attack. We are lacking the quality to score the goal. We are lacking in the middle to run. We are lacking behind to stay there and suffer and not concede the goal. An amazing situation, " said Tudor after Spurs' latest lost to Fulham.
Tottenham news & transfers⚪ | Spurs fixtures & scores
Got Sky? Watch Premier League games LIVE on your phone📱
Not got Sky? Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW📺
Barring defending, attacking and running - there's little else you can do on a football pitch. Tudor's assessment paints a poor picture.
Spurs' new head coach - once excited about the challenge before him - has seen the true reality of his team after two games. Here are the numbers which show it...
'We lack when we attack'
Tottenham are on a run of 10 Premier League games without a victory and there is a real lack of winning feeling at the club.
In fact, Spurs did not take the lead in any league match in February. The last time they led in the top flight was during a seven-minute spell at Burnley on January 24.
There is a lack of fluency in attack, partly due to Spurs' inability to be consistent the ball.
Across Spurs' 10 matches since the turn of the year, they rank bottom in the Premier League for both being dispossessed on the ball and overall losses of possession.
"Look at the patterns of play Fulham had," said former Spurs boss Tim Sherwood to Sky Sports. "They had people in the correct positions to open up the pitch.
"Players were wide, balancing off, strikers up front and players in support - it was the opposite of what Tottenham had."
Since the turn of the year, only 35 per cent of Tottenham's possession sequences reach the final third of the pitch - only the bottom two teams in Wolves and Burnley have a lower percentage.
Essentially, Spurs really struggle to get the ball close to goal, playing like a bottom-three team in the process. So no wonder they cannot get into the lead, let alone hold onto it.
'We lack to not concede the goal'
"You put the players [on the pitch], but then you lack defending, running and winning the duels. So what to do?"
In that sentence from his post-match complaints against Fulham, Tudor said his team lacked the ability to compete in the duels once they crossed the white line, leaving the coaching staff helpless.
"Football is a sport of running and duels," he added. "I have a sensation that Fulham players always arrived before. Even with the brain, they arrived before us. We are always late."
In the first half, which saw Fulham race into a 2-0 lead, Spurs won just 40 per cent of the duels in the match. They were overrun by Marco Silva's side - the story of their season.
Spurs rank bottom in the Premier League for aerial duels won - and since the turn of the year have lost more duels than any other team.
But there is also a self-inflicted nature to Tottenham's defensive play. They have made a league-high five errors leading to a goal in 2026. On top of that, no Premier League team has made more errors leading to a shot this calendar year.
That has seen Spurs concede the highest expected-goals figure in the Premier League this year, so the prospect of keeping clean sheets becomes much, much harder.
'We are lacking in the middle to run'
Before the weekend just gone, Spurs had been outrun by each of their last five Premier League opponents.
At Fulham, Spurs covered more ground than they have managed in any Premier League match this season - but that was still not enough for Tudor. "We are lacking in the middle to run," he said after the game.
"It's a load of nonsense about who runs more," said Sherwood to Sky. "It's about when you run, how you run and when you stand still."
This is perhaps not a criticism of the Spurs team - but of the situation they find themselves in. Tudor's comments about his team's lack of ability to run are not a surprise given the way he described Spurs' poor physical condition earlier in the week.
"Physically, I believe, we are not in an amazing situation," he said. "They have played lots of games in the last period without lots of players available and it made the physical condition of the team drop down.
"They are fatigued. To press high you need to be fit, but all of them, because if one person is not in the right shape there is a problem because someone is coming late. And the second thing, is that there is the other goal to protect.
"It is easy to run there but you need to run back, so if you run up and don't run back it's a problem."
It won't get any easier for Spurs physically, given the Champions League returns next week and the toll on the team's legs will rise.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Tottenham head coach Igor Tudor has claimed that the pressure at the club is a "seven out of 10" but those figures may need revisiting after West Ham secured a crucial victory at Fulham in the battle for Premier League survival.
Three days after Spurs stumbled to a 2-1 defeat at Craven Cottage, Nuno Espirito Santo's side dug deep and held on to their narrow 1-0 lead in the same venue to move level on points with Nottingham Forest in 17th, just one point away from Spurs in 16th.
A point for Forest away at Manchester City compounded a disastrous evening for Tudor and his squad as both relegation rivals picked up crucial points on the road.
Spurs' odds of relegation now sit at 7.6 per cent, up from 4.7 per cent, with West Ham fans serenading their London rivals with chants of "we're coming for you, Tottenham Hotspur, we're coming for you" after the game.
Tottenham news & transfers⚪ | Spurs fixtures & scores
Got Sky? Watch Premier League games LIVE on your phone📱
Not got Sky? Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW📺
As other teams fighting for survival gather momentum, Tudor has watched his side lose both games since replacing Thomas Frank.
A north London derby defeat to Arsenal was followed by another poor performance against Fulham, which has left Spurs just one point from the drop zone.
Thursday's game against Crystal Palace now becomes a must-win for Spurs.
Speaking ahead of the game and before West Ham and Forest moved within touching distance of his side, Tudor said: "Coaches always feel the pressure. It's a seven [out of ten]. It's always a part of the job to feel the pressure, but also to enjoy in this job what you can enjoy.
"Good moments you enjoy, bad moments you don't enjoy, but the pressure is always there. When I was 10 trying to be a football player, there was pressure. Start to play with the first team, I always feel the pressure.
"It's a part of my life, and all the coaches, they live with that, it's a normal part of that. But you need to find in that job some beauty, otherwise you don't do this job. The beauty sometimes is difficult, challenges are very difficult, but you need to find beauty in that."
He added: "Everyone understands the situation. There is something wrong if you don't understand. My job is to put the pressure away but their job is to accept the pressure is there.
"So the pressure is everywhere, but you need to love this job. There's real pressure out there. People need to make money for their families or are working in jobs like doctors who are doing operations and they decide about life and death. That's the real pressure.
"You need to be ready to accept this and stand up. Take responsibility. Have the courage to confront these things. This is the best way to do it, the only way to do it.
"I hope we have, and I'm sure because I saw in the training, the players to step up, take responsibility and make us start putting in, first of all good performances, and after also win points."
Tudor did not hide his anger following the performance at Craven Cottage, which has led to some criticism from those who believe he needs to build up the players' confidence. However, he believes it is important that the players do not accept low standards.
"To not accept defeat as something normal. That's the reason," Tudor explained when asked about why he reacted the way he did post-Fulham.
"It's about mentality. When you play with your friends, you can have the mentality of 'OK, we go to play tennis and then we lose.' Or, you can be different."
"In this moment, we need to recognise this and believe we have the quality to do it.
"After the games you need to be angry and disappointed. You don't need to be the guy who comes in and says everything is perfect, smile and nothing happens."
Style no longer matters - it's all about the points
Tudor also conceded that it no longer matters how Spurs play, so long as they pick up crucial points during the run-in.
Much was made of the poor football on offer during Frank's reign prior to his sacking, but Tudor says that no one can afford to think about that given their current predicament.
"It's all about three points. I said before the last game, when you are in this moment, it's all about three points.
"When you start the season and you choose the players, you choose the style you play, you have two months to work on that totally different moment, then you can think about how good you can be.
"After the last 10 games, it's a totally different state of mind."
O'Hara: Tudor should be sacked if he loses to Palace
Despite only having two games in charge, former Tottenham midfielder Jamie O'Hara believes that a third straight defeat could already spell the end for Tudor's temporary spell in charge of the club.
"I haven't seen any evidence they have got better," O'Hara said on Sky Sports Fan Club.
"They've got Crystal Palace at home on Thursday. If they lose that game, I can see them getting rid of him. He's come in all guns blazing. You've been here five minutes. What you don't need right now is a manager coming in and digging everyone out.
"You need someone coming in to breed some confidence and life out of these players. You've come in to get results. At the moment, you're doing all these interviews...it's risky business.
"I'd get rid of him [if he loses to Palace]. He's an interim manager and he's lost the first three games. It's a farce, but Tottenham is a farce."