Tottenham’s new manager Igor Tudor says his players will have “greater motivation” ahead of this weekend’s derby and says he hopes Arsenal can add to their growing title fears.
Spurs’ new manager Igor Tudor insists his side are extra motivated to beat Arsenal this weekend (Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)
Manager Igor Tudor has insisted that Tottenham could add to Arsenal’s sluggish title challenge with another disastrous result. Caretaker manager Tudor admitted Tottenham were in an “emergency situation” but said they could make the most of a difficult situation for their north London rivals.
Gunners manager Mikel Arteta has won just two of his last seven games, abandoning a two-goal lead in midweek to draw with bottom-of-the-table Wolves.
That means Manchester City can close the gap on leaders Arsenal to just two points before Sunday’s derby, putting the pressure on Arteta.
Asked if it was a good time to play Arsenal, Tudor said: “I hope so. Is it a good time to play Arsenal at home? It’s always a good time to play Arsenal at home.”
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“We need to be who we want to be. That’s important. Arsenal gives us more motivation. Of course the quality of the opponents is also high, but it also gives us more motivation. So I hope we can see something concrete on Sunday. So let’s go.”
“We respect them, but we play at home. Let’s see what happens. We need courage and confidence. We have good players and they have good players, so let’s see what happens.”
“Be humble, be brave, be intelligent. Do the right thing to get on the pitch. We play at home, right?”
Leaders Arsenal’s lead could be cut to two points by Sunday.
Coach Tudor lamented the fact that he only has 10 healthy outfield players plus three substitutes, but admitted he doesn’t have time to fully implement a more appealing style of play to entertain fans.
But former Croatian national team defender Tudor, who previously coached Italian giants Juventus, added: “The style of play comes from pre-season, when you have 50 days of pre-season and you have 20 players. Of course, when you have a style, it’s very specific.”
“But now the situation is completely different as it is an emergency and an emergency where we need to quickly find something suitable for the 10 plus three players we have.”
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