Manager Igor Tudor insisted he was not talking about “these bullshit” when talking about Tottenham’s devastation and urged his players to “stand up” ahead of Sunday’s trip to Liverpool.
Tudor, 47, has had a nightmare start to his reign in north London since replacing Thomas Frank as the club’s head coach. They lost all their opening four games. The Croatian has been signed until the end of the season but faces immense pressure after failing to reverse Tottenham’s fortunes.
Spurs are near the bottom of the Premier League and in danger of being relegated after defeats to Arsenal, Fulham and Crystal Palace, with Tudor’s side in 16th place, one point ahead of the bottom three, Nottingham Forest in 17th and West Ham in 18th. The focus then shifted to Tuesday’s Champions League, but Spurs’ terrible form continued, with a 5-2 defeat to Atletico Madrid.
Asked how difficult this week had been following the defeat to Atletico, Tudor said his team must pull together to face Liverpool on Sunday afternoon. “It’s tough,” said the former Marseille and Juventus manager.
“For sure. Not only because of the last game, but also because of this period. It’s not an easy situation, it’s not an easy moment. It’s a big challenge to change the situation. As with everything in life, you can choose how you look at the situation.
“You can cry, you can fight. You can be a victim and you can make a difference. That’s the message I gave the players: The bottle is either half empty or half full.
“Those who have the courage to stand up and change these situations will become better people and players afterward. I said it’s all about us, not all these bullish young men.”
Tudor has since confirmed two injury absences with Cristian Romero, while Joao Parinha has been ruled out for this weekend’s trip to Anfield. Asked about Romero and Parinha, Tudor said, “No, they’re out.”
“Mickey is out. Bissouma has a problem and Conor has a fever, but I hope he’s okay. Something always happens. It’s very rare, but I’ve never seen this in my career.”
Romero and Parinha are also missing the likes of Wilson Odbert, James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Rodrigo Bentancur, Mohamed Kudus, Ben Davies, Lucas Bergvall and Destiny Oudoghier, further exacerbating Tottenham’s injury crisis.
Tottenham face Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday, before hosting Atletico in the Champions League round of 16 second leg three days later.
