Igor Tudor insisted he believes Tottenham can avoid relegation from the Premier League as he addressed his future at the club after falling to a third consecutive defeat under his tenure.
Relegation is now a real danger after Thursday’s 3-1 home defeat to Crystal Palace, a result that left the club just one point above the relegation zone following West Ham’s win over Fulham and Nottingham Forest’s draw at Manchester City.
Tottenham went ahead through Dominic Solanke but Tudor said the match turned when captain Micky van de Ven was sent off for denying a goalscoring opportunity and Ismaila Sarr converted the penalty. Spurs then collapsed, with thousands of fans leaving at half-time as Palace went 3-1 up.
Spurs will travel to Liverpool for their next Premier League match, a fixture that falls between their Champions League last-16 tie against Atletico Madrid. Tudor replied “no comment” when asked whether he would still be in his position for the Liverpool game.
Tudor has been in charge for just 21 days after replacing Thomas Frank and if the Liverpool game does not go well a potentially crucial relegation six-pointer against Nottingham Forest would follow in Tottenham’s last fixture before the international break.
Tottenham’s next four fixtures
- March 10: Atletico Madrid (A) – Champions League
- March 15: Liverpool (A) – Premier League
- March 18: Atletico Madrid (H) – Champions League
- March 22: Nottingham Forest (H) – Premier League
“I understand the fans, they wanted more,” Tudor said after the Crystal Palace defeat. “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.”
