Football London

The Tottenham sporting director has opened up on the club's current predicament, sacking Thomas Frank, appointing Igor Tudor and the transfer window

Johan Lange has made it clear that the next Tottenham head coach must play attractive, attacking football and understands why his own position is under pressure.

The Dane is among those at the club trying to pick up the pieces after his and the board's decision to sack Ange Postecoglou and replace the Australian with Thomas Frank backfired with Spurs currently sitting 16th in the Premier League and only five points above the drop zone.

Frank was jettisoned just seven months into his tenure and now the club have parachuted in Igor Tudor, known for his ability to make quick impacts at clubs across Europe, in order to steer the Lilywhites away from the prospect of what would be a disastrous relegation.

In order to prevent the Croatian from having to answer questions galore in front of the cameras at his first press conference about matters that came before his arrival, Lange sat down first at Hotspur Way to face those questions himself from a group of journalists about his and the club's decisions over recent months.

The first topic of discussion was having to play his part in the sacking of Frank, someone he has known for decades, after the hiring of the former Brentford manager soon turned sour amid woeful results and the fanbase turning against the 52-year-old.

"We as the leaders constantly evaluate performances, evaluate results and after the Newcastle game, we made the decision," Lange told football.london. "Ultimately, it was a board decision but we made the decision and that was why we decided it was the right time to change."

Lange, CEO Vinai Venkatesham and then chairman Daniel Levy had gone through a detailed and rigorous selection process involving more than 30 candidates being whittled down to just four using 10 different criteria yet still ended up with the wrong man in Frank. So does that shake the foundations of that process and pour doubt upon using it again?

"No, I think when you make a decision, you're always making the decision that you're confident is the right one at the time," admitted Lange. "We evaluated, and we wanted to give Thomas every opportunity to succeed. But ultimately, it's also our responsibility to make the decisions and we came to that point where we saw the performances, the results, and then you come to that decision."

FOLLOW OUR TOTTENHAM FB PAGE! Latest Spurs news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page

Lange was left as Spurs' lone sporting director after Fabio Paratici quit just three months into the job to return to Italy and a role at Fiorentina.

The Dane has found himself in the firing line as the focus of plenty of fan disgruntlement and speculation over his position. The 46-year-old, who is on a standard workplace contract with no fixed end date, is fully aware that with Frank's failure, criticism over the transfer window and another manager without a squad able to compete in all competitions as well as the team's perilous position, his own position will be scrutinised.

"I, of course, accept my responsibility at all times, but every decision that I make and we have made has been in the best interests of the club," he said.

"I think when you work for a big club like Tottenham, then pressure, or whatever you want to call it, is part of it. I’m sitting here today because I want to take responsibility for the club, everything that comes into football.

"Part of being here is expectations. That is part of why it’s fantastic to be here because if you are working for a big club there are big expectations, but also big opportunities and big possibilities. If you work for a very small club, if you work for a club with less fans, then maybe there’s less pressure or expectation. I think we are a big club and we work with high expectations and that is why I personally, really, really love working here because of the expectations."

Postecoglou said last week in a podcast interview that Tottenham did not act like a big club during his tenure when it came to competing with other sides for new signings because of the restrictive wage structure but Lange reiterated Venkatesham's statement that players' salaries were being addressed.

"I’m not going to sit here and start commenting on an ex-club employee’s comments. I think Vinai in his notes earlier this year made it known in the match day programme that we, as a club, need to grow our wage bill to be competitive," he said. "We were also linked, I think Thomas commented on players in January, and it was definitely not because of a lack of ambition or effort from our side that those players are not here today."

Tottenham supporters though are tired of hearing who the club tried but failed to get in transfer windows, a running theme over the years. As Venkatesham himself said in his message to the fans, it's about actions rather than words and Lange understands the frustration.

"Yeah. One hundred per cent, that is the only thing. Of course, it’s actions, that is the only thing, but when you are in any transaction it does take three parties. It takes a player to agree and we are not in control if a player makes a career choice to join another club, then that is unfortunately outside our control," said the former Aston Villa man.

So what exactly happened in a transfer window that brought a net spend of just £13million after all the talk of ambition with the arrival of Conor Gallagher and Souza and the departure of Brennan Johnson as injury after injury weakened Frank's squad and left Tudor with just 13 players training in his first week in charge?

Lange launched into a lengthy explanation when asked whether the club could have signed more players as the long-term injuries piled up.

"It’s a good question. What is very important to say is that on the one hand we have a short squad and on the other we also had players who could not be registered for European competitions because we have too many players," he said. "It is without doubt, especially during January, that we had too many injuries. Every time we played we lost players. It’s something we are constantly reviewing with the greatest level of seriousness.

"I think if you are unpicking the injuries we had in January, a few of them were contact injuries. Odobert, the knee goes or Ben Davies or Lucas Bergvall or Kevin Danso. Four of the injuries are contact injuries but of course it has been across the league that all the teams in European competition are suffering from injuries and that is something we are taking very very seriously to make sure we optimise everything for less injuries. Our new performance director [Dan Lewindon] started last week and that is just one step in that direction."

He added: "Just 10% of all transfers happen in January and 90% in the summer. I personally believe the new European format changed the dynamic a little bit around the window because I remember my first year here before the new format, you had four teams in a group. A lot of teams would be out of the reckoning by October or something like that and then they would play their next competitive game around this time.

"Now we are playing a different format it means every point counts. You go into matchday eight, but almost every team in Europe had something to play for whether that was better seeding or top eight. You are playing through December and not in the beginning of January but the last part of January. You are playing two very competitive matches with the fact that not only us but a lot of teams have what they would say is too many injuries.

"That meant that in January very few players who could make a difference for us now or in the future were available. Then it’s back to the point even though the squad is too short we still have players we are unable to register for the last 16. So to bring in players that cannot help us now or we don’t believe have potential for the future, that unfortunately for me doesn’t make sense.

"If you analyse all the transfers in January everyone can see there were very few players available. That is reality and then looking towards the summer the message has been clear from the owners of the club, Vinai has been on record saying this. I have been saying this as well and very happy to repeat it that the sole focus of this club is to create on pitch success.

"It is to be competitive across different tournaments and, very importantly, an ingredient in doing that is if you have a squad capable of competing in multiple fronts and we are not there yet but that is the clear vision."

Now Tudor must find a way forward with Spurs' reduced numbers and the Croatian stood out in the managerial interviews that Lange and Venkatesham conducted in the week after Frank's dismissal. His experience at firefighting at various clubs like Juventus, Lazio and Udinese (twice), although he is not believed to be keen on his reputation as a short-term gains coach, meant the 47-year-old pushed himself to the front of the pack.

But what made the former Marseille boss a better bet for Tottenham than going for a manager with Premier League experience for the battle ahead?

"When you make the decision around Thomas, it’s very important to go into a shorter process than if you are changing a head coach over the summer," explained the sporting director. "We interviewed a few candidates. Igor impressed us very, very much in the interview.

"We also managed to take references of him and he comes in with very big experience at the highest level in football and as a player, playing for a very, very big club, one of the biggest clubs in the world in Juve, he was part of this very good generation of Croatia national team in the late 90s.

"He has shown the capabilities of coming into clubs around this time, February, March, and also big clubs, and made an immediate performance impact. That was a very big reason. There is a big difference, if you are a coach for example, who has only started a new job on July 1. You have six or seven weeks to prepare to get to know the club. I’m not saying that necessarily it's easy, but that’s a different challenge.

"If you come in here on the Monday and you are playing at the weekend, you need to build relationships with the players immediately and assess the style of the club immediately. He has shown that with great success, not only once but a few times, to come into that. That is one of the reasons why we believe he is the best candidate here now but also with his reputation and what he’s done in his career, of course, if things go well, he could be here for a long time."

Tudor is yet to be reunited with his go-to assistant coach Ivan Javorcic with his fellow Croatian's arrival part of an ongoing process but Bruno Saltor's presence will help in the meantime.

"When we made the appointment of Igor, we had conversations around bringing in an additional assistant coach so Bruno is a very, very highly thought of," said Lange. "We had conversations and me and Igor had conversations together with Bruno and he will come in and work as part of the staff.

"Bruno has been here as a player with Brighton, he worked at Brighton, Chelsea and West Ham for ten years or something like that. It’s not only about the head coach, it’s also about the staff. Andreas [Georgson] our assistant/set-piece coach also worked at three different clubs in Arsenal, Manchester United and Brentford and here as well.

"We have a lot of staff that you don’t know who have a wealth of experience working with different coaches and being in the league, so I understand your question but there’s more to it than one particular category."

There has been speculation that Paratici had provided one of the references when Spurs looked into Tudor's background and while Lange would not be drawn on the identities of those who helped in the process he appeared to distance the Italian from the operation.

"Who we spoke to I don’t think is relevant, but of course Fabio stopped working here at the beginning of February and it’s us who are working here who made the decision," he said. "Who we spoke to that Igor worked with in the past it, be it executives, be it players, etc, we like to keep confidential."

Tudor is currently only on a short-term contract until the end of the season but has the chance if he succeeds to put his name into the frame for the long-term job in the summer.

Lange repeatedly swerved talk of finding the club's next permanent manager, stating that all focus was on the current situation and getting Spurs back up the table, but he did admit that after Frank's playing style failed to impress the fans, the next head coach would have to bring the right style to the club.

"It is definitely something high up on the list. We are very ambitious to create a team that can play dominant football and control matches with the ball for a few reasons," said the Dane. "If you look across almost every league in the world, that is how the top teams normally are successful – able to dominate possession, create chances, be aggressive without the ball and that is of course the football.

"Then we are also a club with a rich history of having some of the best offensive players in the world and having a very particular style of play that resonates with the history, resonates with the fans and that combined with having a possession-dominant, aggressive style of play, those two things go hand in hand. Of course that is something that is important for us here at the club."

The Tottenham supporters have sung repeatedly for Mauricio Pochettino's return so will the Argentine be one of the name's on the club's shortlist come the summer after his duties with the USA at the World Cup are done, as it would be an easy win for the hierarchy?

Lange would only say: "Igor has been here for five days. That is our focus and I am not going to comment on any names that have been linked to the job."

The Tottenham sporting director speaks with Venkatesham frequently each day and was asked whether both men realise the gravity of the club's current situation and the unacceptable position it currently finds itself in?

"We have just changed the coach. We are very clear that we think we have a team that has the potential to do more, so the focus right now is to get higher up the table and then we are in the Champions League. We are in the last 16 of the Champions League, so I think the rest of the season is to get as high as possible in the Premier League table and be super competitive in the Champions League," he said.

"I am sure you have been to many great nights at the stadium in Europe over the last two seasons and it is our hope that we can create more magic moments in that tournament, but we also know that we need to get higher in the table.

"When you work in sport, across football or individual sports, it is about performances. It is about focusing on the performance. When you are among players or coaches, the focus is on the next training session, the next game. That is the reality, but of course we know where we want to go to as a club and we can come back to that, but the focus right now is in the moment. That is to be super competitive in all matches, get high up in the table and create fantastic moments in the Champions League."

Will Tottenham's future involve captain Cristian Romero beyond this summer with the Argentine believed to have grown weary of what he sees as a lack of ambition from the club?

"Romero is here, he is our captain. He is here on a long-term contract with the club," said Lange before adding on the World Cup winner's repeated social media outbursts aimed at the hierarchy: "We have been clear as a club that we have dealt with that internally and now it is about being together, all of us and finish the season here in the best possible way in the league and in Europe as well."

Thomas Frank left Tottenham Hotspur earlier this month to be replaced by former Juventus boss Igor Tudor

Former Tottenham Hotspur back Thomas Frank has been tipped to get another job in the Premier League in the future, with Crystal Palace suggested as a potential destination. Frank left Spurs earlier this month and has subsequently been replaced by Igor Tudor, who has taken charge until the end of the season.

Frank’s last match in charge of Tottenham was the 2-1 defeat to Newcastle United in the Premier League earlier this month, a result which leaves them in 16th place in the table and just five points above the relegation zone.

It remains to be seen if and when Frank will return to management, having previously spent seven years in charge of Brentford before making the move to north London last summer.

Despite the struggles in the Premier League this term, Frank still managed to guide Tottenham to a fourth-place finish in the league phase of the Champions League, which secured a place in the last-16 and avoided the play-offs.

Frank’s future has now been discussed on talkSPORT by presenters Simon Jordan and Jim White. Jordan has explained why Frank will be able to find himself back in management in the Premier League, but believes it will not be with a "big club".

FOLLOW OUR TOTTENHAM FB PAGE!Latest Spurs news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page

"Has [Frank] been diminished? Of course he has. But success isn't always a straight line," Jordan said on talkSPORT. "He will have to rebuild a little bit, but now what is being considered is that he's not capable of managing a big club. He's clearly capable of managing clubs.

"People are now going to go after him because of the job Keith Andrews is doing [at Brentford]. But if the culture of the club is right, you hand over a decent opportunity.

"But it will be interesting to find out from him what lessons he thinks he's learned from the mistakes at Tottenham.

"He's now back in the club of managers who can manage in the Premier League but only a certain type of club. But is that an awful thing? To be able to manage, but just not a big-six club."

It was then put to Jordan by White if Palace could be considered the next opportunity for Frank, with Oliver Glasner’s future at Selhurst Park still uncertain.

"Yeah, possibly. A Palace job might be a reasonable job, but Palace fans might say, 'You catapulted Tottenham into a relegation battle, we don't want any of that.'

"But there must be a raft of loads of other reasons behind it. But Thomas Frank's next opportunity will be a lesser club."

Glasner's future at Palace has been the subject of speculation for much of the season, with the 51-year-old expected to leave the Eagles in the summer when his contract expires.

However, with Palace struggling in recent weeks, having won just one Premier League match since the turn of the year, Glasner was asked if he still plans to see out the remaining months on his contract.

"Let's see. What the future brings, we never know," Glasner told reporters on Friday.

Tottenham and Palace are due to meet in the Premier League on March 5.

Mikel Arteta could make lots of changes to the Arsenal starting lineup after another unconvincing performance

Mikel Arteta could raise a few eyebrows with his North London Derby team selection. The Arsenal boss will be determined to restore his side's lead at the top of the Premier League when he locks horns with Igor Tudor at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

The Gunners squandered the chance to extend their lead in the title race on Wednesday night, conceding a late equaliser to Wolves at Molineux. Arsenal could've gone seven points clear, but instead they gifted Manchester City the chance to slash their advantage to just two points.

While Pep Guardiola is in Arteta's rear-view mirror, they cannot leapfrog the Gunners this weekend. Arsenal may fancy their chances against Spurs, having had a disastrous start to the year.

However, Tudor has won his first match in charge in each of his last five spells at a club, starting with his second spell at Hajduk Split in February 2020, followed by Verona, Marseille, Lazio and Juventus since.

FOLLOW OUR ARSENAL FB PAGE! Latest Gunners news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page

The Croatian had been without a job since March 2025 before becoming the interim Tottenham boss, so he could very well catch Arteta off guard with new ideas. So, with that being said, journalists at football.london have predicted the Arsenal starting lineup.

Tom Canton

I hate this game… I know I shouldn’t but the build-up and the potential downsides for me always outweigh the potential joy. There are few things worse than losing a North London Derby from an Arsenal perspective, but if there is one thing, it’s losing the derby and simultaneously waving goodbye to your hopes of a title which would almost certainly be the case here.

This is why I think Mikel Arteta needs to pick some players who might give a bit more than we have seen of late. That means Ben White in for a struggling Jurrien Timber.

While I have toyed with Christian Norgaard for this game, I still struggle to take out Martin Zubimendi. I wish I could believe Kai Havertz is ready to come back, but I just don’t, whereas I do believe Martin Odegaard might be ready to come in.

Piero Hincapie is probably the most in form player at the moment and so he starts and I am praying Leandro Trossard is fit to play because Gabriel Martinelli and the Premier League just aren’t mixing.

Canton’s Arsenal XI vs Spurs: Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie; Zubimendi, Rice, Odegaard; Saka, Gyokeres, Trossard

Ryan Taylor

There's plenty of big calls for Mikel Arteta to ponder, particularly if Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz are available for selection. But I don't see the need to complicate things and believe Mikel Arteta must select the players who are sharp and ready to rumble.

There is a big call at left-back and while Arsenal are statistically a better side when Riccardo Calafiori has started in the Premier League, I think Piero Hincapie could be the man for this match as he's excellent at winning duels.

In midfield, I would give Ebere Eze the nod as his treble in November to down Spurs was spectacular, and there's just a sense he could write more history in this fixture after snubbing a switch to Tottenham last summer.

In attack, the tried and tested trio of Bukayo Saka, Leandro Trossard, and Viktor Gyokeres is Arsenal's best on paper. The likes of Noni Madueke, Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli can all have a say from the bench if needed.

Ryan's starting lineup to face Tottenham: Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie; Zubimendi, Rice, Eze; Saka, Trossard, Gyokeres.

Jake Stokes

I wouldn't be surprised if Arteta makes a few tweaks to his starting lineup, starting with Ben White at right-back. The defender was forced to come off towards the end of the FA Cup tie against Wigan Athletic, but he only appeared to suffer a slight knock and returned to the bench for the Wolves clash.

Jurrien Timber hasn't been in great form, and I wouldn't be surprised if Arteta throws White into the deep end to mix things up a little bit. As for the midfield, I think Arteta will bring Odegaard back into the fold, playing him alongside Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi.

Speaking to reporters at the Sobha Realty Training Centre on Friday afternoon, the Spaniard claimed his skipper will need to pass a late fitness test. Arteta said the same about Havertz, who, again, I think will be given at least 60 minutes or so.

Viktor Gyokeres has really struggled, and Gabriel Jesus has hardly forced his boss to make any difficult decisions. On the wings, I'd rotate and go for Saka and Trossard. Gabriel Martinelli and Noni Madueke would be decent options off the bench, especially if Arsenal are defending a lead.

Jake's starting lineup to face Tottenham: Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie; Zubimendi, Rice, Odegaard; Saka, Havertz, Trossard.

EXCLUSIVE: Tottenham's big issue facing Igor Tudor that Ange Postecoglou and Thomas Frank couldn't fix

Igor Tudor has been appointed as Tottenham Hotspur's interim head coach until the end of the season, and one Spurs legend believes he will have to deal with a deep-seated issue within the club

Stephen Carr claims that Igor Tudor will have to deal with an issue that neither Ange Postecoglou nor Thomas Frank could work past in an incredibly limited amount of time with Tottenham Hotspur.

The Croatian has stepped as interim head coach with the Lilywhites until season's end, following the sacking of Frank just eight months into his tenure earlier this month. After failing to achieve a single win from eight Premier League matches, with Spurs languishing in 16th in the standings, the board decided that they had seen enough from the Dane.

As a result, the club has brought in former Juventus and Lazio boss, Tudor, with just 12 games remaining, with hopes that he can pull Spurs away from a looming relegation battle. However, the 47-year-old faces an uphill battle in doing so, given that Tottenham are threadbare in terms of depth as a result of a player injury crisis.

It's an issue that Frank was forced to work with for large parts of this season, while Postecoglou was also hampered by sidelined players in 2024/25, only able to muster a 17th-place finish in the English top flight. That's despite capturing the Europa League title that same season.

Now, Carr has pinpointed that injuries seem to be the root of Spurs' issues at present, leaving Tudor with an almost impossible task should he hope that his tenure is looked upon as successful. Speaking exclusively to football.london via Gambling.com, who rank casinos in the UK, the club legend said: "He [Frank] came with a reputation.

"He was a very good manager and he still is a very good manager, let's not forget, because you can't do that in the Champions League and then be a poor manager. He's a very good manager.

"He's had a lot of injuries. A lot of people can use that as an excuse. If any of the top clubs in that league had them injuries, they'd struggle - Man City, Arsenal, Man U, Liverpool. He's had it tough, but unfortunately, in football, no one cares. It's about results.

FOLLOW OUR TOTTENHAM FB PAGE!Latest Spurs news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page

"They don't think when they have injuries, they don’t even take that into account. Fans pay a lot of money to go there. They don't care."

On how Tudor fixes something that nor Postecoglou nor Frank were able to, Carr believes that the head coach needs stability within his team, and that he shouldn't look to play a certain type of football. He continued: "He just needs stability in that team. He needs to get results, however they do it.

"It's not like we need to play this football and that football, the Tottenham way, like West Ham do; the West Ham way, it's not about that. It's about getting results now. It's getting up that table. At the moment, they’re in a really poor position."

Tudor's first assignment with Spurs comes in the form of the North London Derby come Sunday, February 22; a tough task considering Arsenal currently sit top of the Premier League table. Given they were held to a 2-2 draw with a rock-bottom Wolves midweek, however, Carr fancies his former club to go out and win.

He explained: "They have Arsenal at the weekend. Is it a good time to get Arsenal? Probably after the result they just had. They're under pressure. They're under pressure in a different way; to win the title.

"But it'd be a typical Tottenham team to go and get results after all that's happened. So, they should be lifting themselves for that. I think it's an amazing game. Any derby goes…you don't know what's happening in the derby. You've seen that in loads of derbies.

"I think it's a great game for them. Always great to play in derbies. For the manager as well. I wouldn't be surprised if Tottenham win, it'd be just a typical Tottenham."

The new Tottenham interim head coach has been speaking about his first game in charge against north London rivals Arsenal on Sunday

New Tottenham boss Igor Tudor believes it should always be a good time to play against Arsenal at home even if his new club are in an "emergency situation".

The Croatian has parachuted into Spurs in the wake of Thomas Frank's sacking, with the club down in 16th-place and just five points above the Premier League's drop zone. This is not new territory for Tudor as over the years he has gone into the likes of Juventus, Lazio and Udinese (twice) and immediately picked the clubs up and pushed them up the Serie A table.

Now he must work similar magic at Tottenham and his first game in the dugout will be Sunday afternoon's north London derby against table-topping Arsenal. Mikel Arteta's side have wobbled in recent weeks with just three Premier League wins in 2026 and if Manchester City beat Newcastle on Saturday night then the Gunners' lead at the summit will be down to just two points.

Tudor was asked whether it was a good time for Spurs to face their north London rivals amid their stuttering form and he had little time for his new club's poor record at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the past year.

"It’s always a good time to play against Arsenal at home," said the 47-year-old. "Good if you are not in a good moment, of course. If you are not in a good moment, of course. So let’s go. We respect them but we play at home. Let’s see what will happen.

"We need to have courage, confidence. We have good players, they have good players. So let’s see what will happen. Be humble but brave, intelligent. The right things to do to put in the pitch. We play at home, eh?"

The biggest opponent for Tudor will be the club's own continuous injury crisis with just 13 players fit to train in his first week at Hotspur Way and the former Juventus centre-back admits that any style of play he wants to bring will have to fit for now into what he has available in front of him.

"Style of play comes when you have 50 days in pre-season and you have 20 players. Of course when you have the style, very concrete, but now this is an emergency, an emergency situation when you need to find fast what suits the 10 plus three players and it’s totally different," he said.

“It’s also a problem because you cannot now go and say that you have five or six things that you want to achieve. One, two, three maybe. But you have to go day-by-day, week by week and now we go on that, we do something else, continue with this, continue with that and now maybe we are weaker on one side of our game, we work and improve on something. That’s how you build a team. It’s a process.

"But let’s see what we can do. If you ask me what we are going to see on Sunday then I believe something concrete, good that the people will like. But it’s also about working, doing your best and then you will see on Sunday."

FOLLOW OUR TOTTENHAM FB PAGE! Latest Spurs news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page

Tudor expects to have a couple of strikers in action but the derby this weekend will come too soon for right-back Pedro Porro.

"[Dominic Solanke] had some problems during the week with his throat. He has taken some antibiotics but he'll be available for the game," he said. "Richy is back. Tel was there. Others you already know. [Porro] no. Next week."

Due to the short-term nature currently of his appointment, the new boss is living out of a hotel and he dismissed any suggestion he might do some London sightseeing.

"This is a question I don’t need to answer. I come here not to visit the city, I have come here to do a job at a very difficult moment for this club," he said. "We work every day, like all coaches do. Every day. Focus on the work and live it 24/7. Even if you go to the restaurant or a museum, you are thinking about how to make the team play better. It’s a strange job."

After another week in which the term "Spursy" has been topical with Swedish politician Mikael Damberg using the word when analysing his nation's economic struggles and comparing them to the Premier League club, Tudor needed to have the expression explained to him and he quickly dismissed it.

"It’s not about that. It’s not about names. It’s other things in football and in life. It’s not about the names or sayings, whatever you call it, it’s not about tradition. It’s about here and here (points to head and heart)," he said. "It's not about legs. It’s about head, it’s about brain, it’s about heart. That is what it’s about.

"Until now, I saw interesting things [from this squad]. When I say [mentality] is most important, it’s a basic. Let’s say it like that. It’s a basic that you have these things. But we need to add also other things otherwise it’s not enough.

"So let’s start with this. After, pass by pass, we’ll add more things. I saw this position to react like this. It’s not easy, but in life all the good things are not easy. If somebody wants to become something more, it's never easy. This is the moment to react for each player and put themselves in the challenge to become something more."

Tudor is looking forward to experiencing his first north London derby in the flesh.

"On television, it’s a little bit different so I don’t know how it will be live," said the new Spurs boss. "It’s always a good game, always big motivation. It can be big energy, big everything."

The Croatian has no doubt that Spurs will "100 per cent" be a Premier League club next season and he was asked where that certainty comes from.

“The quality. What I saw this week is the quality of the players, we have enormous quality in the players even though some of them are not with us, but they will come back," he said. "On Sunday we will have 13 good players. It’s about that.

"I think I was very clear about what my goals are, that I focus on us. I will prepare the same way whether it is Arsenal or another team. It’s all about us. We need to become what we want to be. It's about that. Arsenal gives you bigger motivation, ok bigger quality of opponent, but also bigger motivation. So I hope we see concrete things on Sunday."

Tottenham have confirmed that Dele Alli will return to north London as a special guest for this Sunday's Premier League clash against bitter rivals Arsenal.

A club announcement read: "Dele returns to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday as our special guest for the north London derby (4.30pm UK).

"One of the most popular players of the modern era - 67 goals in 269 appearances in all competitions - the attacking midfielder won the hearts of Spurs fans over his seven years in Lilywhite, 2015-22. It says it all that his song 'we've got Dele...' was the first sung by fans at the new stadium, ahead of opening night against Palace in April, 2019.

"Supporters will be able to serenade him again at half-time on Sunday, when he will no doubt reminisce about some magical Spurs memories with Paul Coyte."

FOLLOW OUR TOTTENHAM FB PAGE!Latest Spurs news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page

Given his superb spell at the club, his presence will undoubtedly arrive as a major boost to fan morale and the overall feeling at the club for such a big game.

The 29-year-old has been without a club since September after leaving Serie A side Como, where he made just one appearance under Cesc Fabregas.

In the three-and-a-half years prior, he had spells at Everton and Besiktas following his departure from the Lilywhites in early February 2022.

Under Mauricio Pochettino, Dele was a key part of the attacking foursome that terrorised many Premier League teams alongside Harry Kane, Christian Eriksen and Son Heung-min.

All five have returned to north London following very different departures with Pochettino potentially coming back for a second managerial spell.

Ensure our latest sport headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as Preferred Source in your Google search settings

Igor Tudor has been placed in interim charge following the sacking of Thomas Frank with the Lilywhites to appoint a permanent replacement in the summer.

The potential candidates for that vacancy could be vastly different depending on how the remainder of the season plays out with Tottenham only five points off the relegation zone.

Getting out of that position starts this Sunday with the visit of league leaders Arsenal, who have won just two of their last seven Premier League games in pursuit of the title.

Here is very single word the Tottenham Hotspur interim head coach said during his first press conference ahead of the match against Arsenal

Igor Tudor faces the questions at his first press conference as Tottenham interim head coach on Friday afternoon ahead of the North London Derby on Sunday.

The Croatian was appointed until the end of the campaign to replace Thomas Frank who was sacked with Spurs lying 16th in the Premier League table, just five points above West Ham in the Premier League drop zone. Now Tudor faces the toughest of debuts in the dugout against Mikel Arteta's Arsenal side.

Tudor has inherited the injury problems that dogged Frank this season, and his predecessor Ange Postecoglou before him, and the 47-year-old has been training with just 13 fit outfield players ahead of the north London derby at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Our Spurs correspondent Alasdair Gold was among those putting the questions to the new man at the helm ahead of the match. Here's the full transcript from the press conference at Hotspur Way.

Welcome Igor, have you enjoyed your first few days?

I didn’t enjoy because I’m not here to enjoy I’m here to work. Enjoying is just the first moment after there is work to do. It’s a privilege to be here, as I said before, at this fantastic club. Also very focused and concentrated to do the right things that this club, this team and these fans need. I’m focused on that, I’m not thinking too much about what you asked me to enjoy.

You've lots of injuries. How difficult will this job be?

Very particular moment as you know this very rare situation that you find with 10 players injured, with big injuries also. We made training with 13 players. It is how it is. It is not fantastic beautiful but in this case it’s an even bigger challenge to succeed and come out of this situation.

But what was my goal in this first sessions we made is that we became a team. That we became a team with a really right way of going to war, a team who want to suffer, we need to suffer. To fight, to run, to have the right mentality. Also, this is the start. I was working on a lot of things, not everything because it’s not only football, it’s not only about that, it’s about clear idea of what we want to do. Very specific things we want to do with the ball, without the ball, when we are pressing, when we are low. We work a lot but the start is always about mentality because the people come before the football player.

FOLLOW OUR TOTTENHAM FB PAGE! Latest Spurs news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page

You have a great reputation for coming into clubs and making an immediate impact. What is it that you do?

I don’t know. I do my job. Nothing special. I do the things I believe is important. Nothing more, nothing less. Each coach has his own style to achieve the results. I have my style which I believe is the best. It’s never the same because there are always different characteristics, different clubs and different culture. Not even of the league but the club. Some clubs like this kind of football, some like this. You need to resolve the problems. Everywhere the problems, if you go to the best clubs in the world you believe there are not problems there but there are problems there like in the third division. It’s all about how you resolve the problems in a very quick time. Not easy but it’s okay.

When you talk about making these football players a team with a mentality, have you spoken to the team about what you expect from them on Sunday because they really struggled at home in the Premier League?

Yeah, we speak from day one. We have these three, four sessions. From day one, I go immediately to very concrete things, because there's no time to lose. Even choosing the exercise, I need to choose the exercise for in a short period, they can do the improvement.

Not losing too much time on basic principles, maybe sometimes I do. So, what I said, it's not, of course, possible in short trainings to do big changes, but something we need to see. And I'm sure that we will see something. I saw the players very available, very motivated to turn on the things. So, that's a nice start.

Given that you've got so many players out injured, has it been particularly easy or difficult to work out how you want to set the team up? And also, what kind of style of play do you want to try and implement?

I would say that it's more difficult when you don't have players, of course. But in one way, then it's easy to choose. The system is always after the style, after the mentality. The system can be...as you know, during the game, the players move, change. So, it's only start position after it's all about fluidity, about movement. Without the ball, of course. Then you need to choose for the characteristics of the players you have That's the thing. With the players, if you have wingers, fantastic wingers, you can play with the wingers. If you have, I don't know, fantastic strikers, you can play with strikers or midfielders. So, that's the key. But it's not about the system. That's the last thing that's important.

For this start, you know, what I said before, we need to become a team, we need to become the group of the people who are available, who will give something more, who will not watch each other. Who will not watch themselves, but each other, to help them. So, this is, for me, basic, and after, all the quality can come out, because this is a team that is full of quality, I believe, full of talented players, with good motor engines, I like to say, the legs who can run, you know. So, there is plenty of potential. So, to come out of this potential, some basic needs to be done.

You mentioned you've had 13 players in training. Have you got anyone coming back from injury before this game on Sunday?

Probably no, probably no. Solanke, Dominic, had some problems with his throat, but he made today some training. So, all others, probably someone next week.

This club has a great history of having had really top-level, world-class Croatian players who've played here, so how proud are you to continue that link between Croatian players, managers and this club?

Yeah, my best friend was here, Stipe Pletikosa as goalkeeper, and also the best player in the history of Croatian football, Luka Modric. So, of course, nice things happened 10, 15 years ago, so it's passed a little bit of time, but it's nice.

Radu Dragusin is going to be an important player for you in the weeks ahead, with Cristian Romero out. Did you work with him in his first season coming through?

Yeah, he came out as a young player in that period. I've been there, recognising him immediately, the skills, he was good already. When he was young, he's still young, but not like he was four or five years ago.

Did you work with Romero maybe just for a week or two?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I sent him out, I sent him to Atalanta. No, no, he told me that now 'you sent me out!' I said, no, no, no. He went to Atalanta, and then he made this fantastic career, and that's what he became.

What was your first conversation like with the leaders in the group, like Cristian?

The conversation was what I said now before here. It is about everything, you cannot say we speak about this and we don’t speak about this. You need to speak about these values, but also about concrete things on the pitch and what you want because the players need and they want to have clarity about what we want. This was a goal to send two messages about people, about men, about values and about what we want to play, so these two things together working.

Who will be your captain with Cristian out?

Yeah, he (Romero) will be. Ah, you will see on Sunday.

Do you think Spurs are in a relegation fight?

This is not important. To be more clear, fighting for every position – relegation, first position, UEFA [European qualification] – it is for me, how can I explain, it is all about you achieve what you do during the week. You achieve your position how you do things on Sunday. So it is always a consequence of that. This brings you nothing if you start to think about relegation or ‘I’m fighting for this.’ All these goals, they are far away. I never give them importance. I never speak about results.

I never speak about what we need to achieve at the end of the season. I don’t believe in this. I believe in today’s training. This is all I want the players to think about. I go strong on things we need to do on training, after we speak, I go man to man to give concrete advices, all I have – love, also support – but the right advice, It is all about that. The position [in the table] is a consequence of this.

Do you think the players have taken that on board – the gap is only five points so they may be thinking about it?

It can be five, ten, two, The behaviour needs to be the same. We need to be focused on what we need to become as a team. That’s the process, that’s the path so let’s focus on this and see what we can become. Not that we need to see what is down, what is up. This doesn’t bring you anything. We need to concentrated on us, me as a coach, helping the players every day and what the players can do. This is the main goal.

The atmosphere has been negative at home games of late – what is your message to supporters?

The message is give us support. The players need this. It is an amazing game to restart. I heard a lot of good things about them, about the love they have for the players. I am sure they will give us support and we show them that we care and we want to switch, we want to make a change immediately.

Does it matter that you have no experience in the Premier League?

I don’t believe [it matters]. Football is everywhere, it is 11 vs 11, there is a referee, there is offside, there is everything, so of course something, but I know the club, I know who is staying with the guys inside. Small details of course you will know much better with the months, but in the end it is always about football, about pitch there, about relationships and what you need to do there.

What are your memories of facing Tottenham in 2022?

Not nice because we lose, so not nice but two good games. Champions League, Marseille against, it was good game, beautiful, beautiful. Good atmosphere in the stadium, I remember. Unfortunately we lose.

How confident are you that come next season Tottenham will still be a Premier League team?

Confident? 100 per cent, 100 per cent.

On conceding low xG chances from outside the box

Probably a bit of both, we'd have to go goal by goal. Sometimes a player of quality can put the ball in the top bins.

The players in this league have a lot of quality.

On conceding late

I think every game has had a different situation and we had it against Palace in the Carabao Cup too. Certainly it is not the intention to defend any result, that is not the mindset. It's about what you're doing with the ball.

The Villa one was very different the last 10, 15 minutes of that game.

On the Vini Jr incident

Well that's why we have meetings with the Premier League and UEFA to make sure everyone is very aware of the protocols. There is no room for racism in football. You have to go case by case to understand what is the best option.

On Igor Tudor

I think it has happened to us seven times to us this season. We will analyse what he's done in his career.

But the main focus is on what we have to do to win the game.

On the North London Derby

It's the one we have after, but it's the one we cannot wait to play. If we could play today we would. But we will have to show on Sunday.

More on that

Not enough to the standards that we required. It's a shock to the system. We wanted to get the victory, we couldn't but we have to move on.

Reaction from Wolves

What I have seen is a tremedous reaction and no surprise at all. When you lose points in a very unpredictable manner, is no one can really understand that.

That was a chapter, chapter 27 says we draw against Wolves in this manner, what I am intrested in is the next one. Writing our own destiny, life moves on.

The only quadruple Arsenal are heading for is 'second again' after Wolves nightmare

Disgraceful. This is one of the worst Premier League sides ever and might go on to become the worst if Wolves gain fewer than Derby County’s 11 points; but this Arsenal team conspired a way to drop points.

It might be the worst display I have seen watching the Gunners under Mikel Arteta. The Spaniard spent the second half from minute 45 to minute 93, arms flapping up and down like a schoolchild in a playground trying to fly.

What the head coach was actually doing was trying to get his players to calm down and find some composure. Yet, unlike that child who would never take off, any ball that found its way to the feet of an Arsenal player would be punted into the air, as far away from David Raya's goal as they could muster, only to see it come back with what would be devastating ramifications.

Article continues here.

Arsenal finally confirm new Bukayo Saka contract in huge boost despite title nightmare

Arsenal have announced that Bukayo Saka has signed a new contract with the club. The Hale End academy graduate commits until 2030 in a landmark deal for the Gunners.

Mikel Arteta and Andrea Berta, among others, have been working behind the scenes to secure a deal which football.london understands has been agreed since January. Saka has endured a challenging 18 months with three injuries, including having to undergo hamstring surgery last season.

He scored his fifth league goal of the campaign in the 2-2 draw with Wolves and spoke to the media after the game. He has become part of Arteta’s leadership group in the squad alongside the likes of Martin Odegaard, Declan Rice and Gabriel Magalhaes.

Article continues here.

Early match odds

It's a huge game for the Gunners as they travel to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday afternoon looking to get back to winning ways after the 2-2 draw at Wolves on Wednesday night.

The match is the first game for new Spurs head coach Igor Tudor after he replaced Thomas Frank at the club until the end of the season.

Arsenal are priced at 12/25 to secure a vital three points with Spurs available at 9/2 and a draw at 29/10 with odds providing by BetGoodwin Casino.

Interim head coach Igor Tudor will take charge of his first Tottenham match when they face Arsenal in the Premier League this weekend

Igor Tudor has spoken to the media for the first time ahead of the north London derby against Arsenal this Sunday (4:30pm).

The crunch showdown will mark Tudor's first game in charge following the sacking of Thomas Frank earlier this month.

The 47‑year‑old Croatian admitted it has been a difficult week, with training affected by a severely depleted squad.

Providing an injury update, he said: "In this particular moment, with 10 injuries, we trained with 13 players.

"It is what is is. It's not fantastic, beautiful but 13 we will have and it is quite enough to achieve what we want on Sunday."

When asked about whether Dominic Solanke would be available, Tudor added: "Probably no, Solanke has some problem with his throat but he made two days training. All the others, some are next week."

FOLLOW OUR TOTTENHAM FB PAGE! Latest Spurs news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page

Spurs remain without Wilson Odobert (knee), James Maddison (knee), Dejan Kulusevski (knee), Rodrigo Bentancur (thigh), Mohammed Kudus (thigh), Ben Davies (ankle/foot), Lucas Bergvall (ankle/foot), Destiny Udogie (thigh), Kevin Danso (ankle/foot), Richarlison (thigh) and Pedro Porro (thigh).

Meanwhile, Cristian Romero will remain suspended after picking up a red card against Manchester United earlier this month.

Romero is serving a four‑game ban, and Tudor will only be able to call on him for the trip to Liverpool on March 15.

For Sunday's clash, Spurs are set to be without 12 first‑team players. Despite the adversity, Tudor says he is focused on the task ahead, determined to ensure Spurs fight to secure their Premier League status for next season.

"I didn't enjoy because I’m not here to enjoy," he stressed. "I’m here to work. It's the first moment and there’s work to do. It’s a privilege to be here."

He then insisted Spurs will be '100 per cent' a Premier League club next campaign.

Spurs are languishing in 16th place in the Premier League, just five points above the relegation zone. Tudor was appointed on a deal until the end of the season after Frank was sacked just seven months into his tenure in north London.

Igor Tudor is holding his first press conference as Tottenham interim head coach on Friday ahead of the North London Derby on Sunday afternoon.

The Croatian has arrived on a short-term deal until the end of the campaign to take over from Thomas Frank after the Dane was sacked with Spurs languishing in 16th spot in the table and hovering just five points above the Premier League drop zone. Now Tudor will face a big debut in the dugout as Mikel Arteta's Arsenal side the short trip across the capital hoping to kickstart their stuttering title hopes.

Tudor has inherited the injury problems that dogged Frank this season, and his predecessor Ange Postecoglou before him, and the 47-year-old will give updates on Pedro Porro and Richarlison's returns ahead of the big derby clash at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Our Spurs correspondent Alasdair Gold is among those putting the questions to the new man ahead of the north London derby. Scroll down for all of his latest updates from the press conference at Hotspur Way.