Igor Tudor certainly understands the magnitude of the task ahead of him.
It was a brutal introduction to English football, as the few remaining Tottenham fans in the stadium booed the players at the final whistle in a 4-1 defeat to Arsenal in the North London derby.
Familiar questions are no longer commonplace. Are Spurs too good to lose? is that so? As of Sunday, Tottenham are firmly in the relegation zone and face a fight to stay in the league.
Demotion would be unthinkable. That’s why they fired Thomas Frank and rolled the dice with Tudor in a desperate attempt to bring back a new manager.
Tudor, who previously played for Juventus, introduced his unique style of high pressing, energy, back five and midfield warriors to the Spurs line-up. It simply didn’t work. They were exposed by Arsenal. It’s in Tudor. Yes, they have a catalog of injuries for starters, but their form is quite alarming.
read more: Arsenal star Declan Rice is mocked by Tottenham fans in despicable incident with photo of partnerread more: Igor Tudor warns of relegation with new confession from Tottenham
Make mirrors your first choice. Click here to enable or add us as a preferred source in your Google search settings
They are the only team in the entire league without a win in 2026. They have not won in the Premier League since December 28, when they won 2-0 against Crystal Palace. They have not won in nine Premier League games, drawing at Burnley and losing at home to West Ham, who are probably their biggest threat to remain.
West Ham were unlucky not to beat Bournemouth on Saturday and also not to beat Manchester United. If that were the case, the Spurs would be in that position.
Still, they sit fifth from bottom, just four points above the drop zone, with a trip to Fulham in their next game, followed by Palace, Liverpool, Nottingham Forest and Sunderland at home.
The plain truth is that Tottenham are in deep crisis. It soon became clear to Tudor, who looked worried on the touchline.
One of his coaching staff sat in the press box and became increasingly excited by the way Arsenal tore apart Spurs in the first half, particularly on the home team’s left flank.
Tottenham are in danger of being relegated from the Premier League
Join us on Facebook! For the latest news, analysis and more on our Mirror Football Facebook page
It might have been good to find another seat for him in the second half. Let me tell you, there’s always an army of analysts in every press box these days.
They are a team with no hope, no form, no momentum and with a devastating absentee list they know they are in trouble.
Tottenham last sank in 1977, and despite finishing fourth from bottom last year under manager Ange Postecoglou, they never intended to. They finished 13 points above the drop zone.
That’s the main difference this year. It’s tight. West Ham are racking up points. Wolves are doomed and the outlook is bleak for Burnley. However, West Ham are piling up points. Nottingham Forest played well but lost to Liverpool, so Vitor Pereira will be the one to cheer them up.
Spurs have been in desperate shape heading into the start of 2026.
This is a full-fledged crisis. Which team was the last to be cast because they were so good that they could fall? I think it was West Ham in 2003. They finished with 42 points, the highest in a 20-team Premier League season, but still underperformed.
That team included David James, Paolo Di Canio, Glen Johnson, Trevor Sinclair, Joe Cole, Freddie Kanuto, Jermain Defoe and Don Hutchinson. There are a few others.
Is it good to go down? Are the Spurs really that good against that team? It’s hard to argue that Tottenham are truly in deep crisis.
And for the club to be relegated in a £1bn stadium would be devastating, not to mention humiliating for the fans.
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive Mirror Football content every day. Community members also receive special offers, promotions, and advertisements from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can always check out. If you are interested, please read our privacy notice.
