Manager Igor Tudor has called on relegation-threatened Tottenham to get rid of their “bad habits” and get “serious” after suffering a 4-1 home defeat to Arsenal in his first game as manager.
Spurs’ latest blowout in north London leaves them four points above the bottom three, and they remain the only Premier League team without a win in 2026, leaving them in further trouble.
Tudor, who parachuted in to save the Spurs’ season, is confident the Spurs will survive, but he told some truths about the team he inherited from Thomas Frank.
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Highlights of the Premier League match between Tottenham and Arsenal.
“I know the truth (about this team). I’ve seen the truth now. It’s not a good thing, but it’s the way it is,” Tudor told Sky Sports.
“Of course I’m confident (that we will survive). I think they are good players with bad habits.
“No one can say we don’t have quality, but we need to flip the mental switch and have the mental sharpness to be in the game from the first minutes and the physicality to do it.”
“You have to work hard to be physically strong, otherwise you will have problems. Too many players have problems and that is the result.”
Asked what he learned about his team, Tudor said: “It’s that we need to work hard. We have too many bad habits in the past. We need to look at ourselves, grow and be humble.”
“We need to run more, play better, defend better and win duels and second balls.
“The players wanted it, they showed passion, they wanted to run, but even though we pressed high, they couldn’t get the ball to the block and they couldn’t get the ball.
“(Arsenal) are stronger, they have more power, they have more energy, they believe more. In the end that’s the key.”
Tottenham’s remaining Premier League matches
“What are Spurs’ goals?” To get serious”
With 11 games remaining in the Premier League, Tudor says Tottenham need to “get serious” and change their habits.
“We need more time to be in a physical moment and a physical situation where we can come out strong and get the ball, and right now we’re not in that moment,” he said.
“The lack of confidence in the team is clearly visible even when they have the ball.
“We’ve been preparing for what we wanted to do, but we have an opponent and today is the reality. It’s very sad, very angry, everything, but in a way it’s also good to understand where our goals are. What are the goals of this club? What are the goals of this team? What are the goals of this manager, this player, this staff?”
“Be serious. Be serious, not just a group of 20 players. The medicine is to look in the mirror. Let each of us look in the mirror, make a serious effort and start changing our habits.”
“Certainly we didn’t need this game. Arsenal are probably the best team in the world right now so it wasn’t easy.
“I played a lot at Derby and as a coach you give things like mentality and motivation, but there are some things you can’t change in three or four training sessions. That’s impossible.”
