Igor Tudor claimed to have more belief Tottenham would stay up despite a 3-1 home loss to Crystal Palace piling the pressure on the interim boss.
West Ham’s win at Fulham on Wednesday started a disastrous 24-hour period for the north London club with this fifth straight defeat for Spurs meaning they are only one point above the Premier League relegation zone with nine fixtures left.
Dominic Solanke’s 34th-minute opener looked to have turned the tide for Tottenham, but stand-in captain Micky van de Ven was inexplicably sent off four minutes later and they conceded three times during the remainder of the first half.
Plenty of Spurs fans headed for the exit doors at half-time and while Tudor’s depleted group showed some spirit in the second half, this latest defeat extended the club’s winless run to 11 matches, which is a new club record in the Premier League.
Tudor was hired last month to provide an upturn in results, but instead has become the first Tottenham manager in the Premier League era to lose his first three matches and had to face questions over his future after full-time.
Asked if he expected the Spurs hierarchy to let him carry on, Tudor responded: “I don’t think in that direction. I have my job to do and that’s all.
“Of course I understand the fans. It’s a normal thing that happens in football. They are disappointed. They wanted more. We are aware of that.
“We also wanted to give more. Unfortunately this is the moment that we pay everything. One red card change everything.
“I will tell you now maybe it will sound strange, but 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 want to go and needs to go and who is in the boat can stay. Otherwise they can bow down, or how do you say that, leave the boat.
“So, when the other players will come back and choosing the right (players), I’m sure we will have a good team and the victories will come back. It’s not easy to accept the moment where we are now but it is how it is.”
It was a different story for Crystal Palace and they are now 10 points above the bottom three after an Ismaila Sarr brace was sandwiched between a fine strike by Jorgen Strand Larsen.
Sarr could have walked away with a hat-trick had his 29th-minute effort not been ruled out for offside, which VAR images showed was due to his nose.
Oliver Glasner said: “We played a very good first half in total. Started very well, did well, scored a goal and we all felt we were 1-0 up. Then it is disallowed and I said to Ismaila your nose is too long!
“Then all of a sudden two minutes later one poor defending after a set-play and we are 1-0 down, but I really loved the reaction of the group.
“All of a sudden the crowd and stadium was loud, it looked like it gave them a little bit of belief and then immediately we are on the front foot again.
“We get the penalty, the red card and then score another two fantastic goals before half-time so really great.”
