Tottenham slipped to a 4-1 defeat against their closest rivals in Igor Tudor’s first game in charge on Sunday
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Igor Tudor watched his Tottenham side lose 4-1 to Arsenal on Sundayopen image in gallery
Igor Tudor watched his Tottenham side lose 4-1 to Arsenal on Sunday (John Walton/PA Wire)
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Igor Tudor remains defiant in the face of Tottenham’s deepening Premier League crisis, insisting there is "enough time" to steer the club away from relegation despite a painful 4-1 defeat to rivals Arsenal.
The manager has backed his under-performing squad to improve with dedicated work on the training pitch.
The heavy loss leaves Spurs languishing in 16th place, just four points clear of the bottom three with 11 games remaining.
Tudor was parachuted in to replace the sacked Thomas Frank, tasked with orchestrating a mid-season turnaround akin to his past successes at Juventus and Lazio, following a dismal run of only two league wins in four months.
"Of course there is enough time," Tudor insisted, reflecting on the derby performance.
"I saw the passion, I saw the will, so I was not angry because they wanted to do (it), but then they were not able to do in this moment the things."
Arsenal players celebrated a dominant display with their fans (John Walton/PA)open image in gallery
Arsenal players celebrated a dominant display with their fans (John Walton/PA) (PA Wire)
He acknowledged the team's desire but highlighted their current inability to execute, stating: "Why we are not able to do is the question we resolve and I speak from day one at the club, I come here to resolve the problems."
Emphasising the need for a fundamental shift, Tudor added: "You believe that in three or four trainings you will do your best but when the game starts you don’t know what will happen because it is like this – but as I said before, Tuesday, I come in, everyone there and stay humble. That is the key."
He stressed the collective effort required: "Stay humble, that is the key for each of us and try to become what I said before – a team, a squad, a hard-working team. That is the only goal we have now in this moment."
Tudor’s immediate impact has been hampered by a challenging fixture against league leaders Arsenal and a significant injury crisis, with 12 players sidelined.
This forced Archie Gray, Djed Spence, and Joao Palhinha to play out of their natural positions.
However, there is hope for the upcoming trip to Fulham, with defenders Pedro Porro and Kevin Danso potentially returning.
Tudor commented on the unprecedented situation: "Yeah, probably two of them (back). We hope. This is a situation that I never saw. That we have 10 (outfield) players plus three (bench) players. Now we need to restart again and waiting for the players who are out."
Micky van de Ven hailed Tottenham’s ‘unbelievable’ fans after Sunday’s lossopen image in gallery
Micky van de Ven hailed Tottenham’s ‘unbelievable’ fans after Sunday’s loss (Getty)
Despite the team's struggles and the emptying stands by full-time, the home supporters maintained a "raucous atmosphere" throughout the derby.
Defender Micky van de Ven praised their unwavering loyalty: "The fans were unbelievable. I have to give credits to them for the full 90 minutes.
“I know it’s also a really tough situation for them but how they kept standing behind us, it was really important. We felt it as well. We wanted to do everything to give them something back but unfortunately we couldn’t."