Igor Tudor has not mentioned the ‘R word’ to his Tottenham players but says style will be sacrificed in the pursuit of results in what is now a “life or death” battle to remain in the Premier League.
Tudor’s first game in charge after replacing Thomas Frank was a humbling 4-1 defeat at home to North London rivals Arsenal – a result that left Spurs just four points above the relegation zone.
Slipping out of the Premier League would have a catastrophic effect on Spurs financially but Tudor is adamant he has not even considered that possibility just yet.
Asked if he’d mentioned relegation to the players, he said: “No, never, but not because it’s something to be scared of. It’s a dangerous word. We need to be focused on ourselves, to be focused on the training. That’s the only thing we can change.
“So there is no point thinking about the future or the points. The points come as a consequence of the training and the games. So that’s the focus, that’s the only focus we need to have.”
Style is secondary for Tottenham boss Tudor
Tudor, who is in charge until the end of the season on an interim basis, is ready to shelve any ideas of beautiful football and target wins with Spurs mired in a run of one league victory since early December.
“You need to be smart to understand the moment and the way to take the points, even not looking to the style,” he added. “So the style I need to be in the second moment, just because now it’s a question of life and death, if I can say that, sportingly.
“How are we going to take these points, you know, one way or the other way?”
Spurs face another London opponent this weekend when they go to Fulham on Sunday.
The Cottagers moved into the top half following last week’s win at Sunderland and Tudor is a fan of Marco Silva and his side.
“Very good team with a coach who is there for a long period, so a very recognisable team in the way they do things,” said the former Juventus boss. “Very serious team, always difficult to beat, so it will be tough. But, as I said before, we need to be focused on us, what we need to do, because we need to make our performances better.”
The Tottenham job is harder than I thought – Tudor
Tudor has been in the job less than a fortnight but already concedes it is harder than he envisaged.
“Probably yes. I agree,” he said. “Very tough, but it is what I said before, I don’t change my opinion. So daily work, focus on all things we need to do – physical condition, mental condition, performance and waiting on [injured] players to come back.
“So we need to be focused on us, what we can do, less thinking about others and it should be good.”
Tottenham have a lengthy injury list but two of the walking wounded – Pedro Porro and Kevin Danso – will be available this weekend.
