‘This is an emergency’ but Igor Tudor convinced Tottenham will avoid relegation

Spurs are the 12th different club of Tudor’s 13-year managerial career SportFootball‘This is an emergency’ but Igor Tudor convinced Tottenham will avoid relegationSpurs are the 12th different club of Tudor’s 13-year managerial careerGeorge Sessions Saturday 21 February 2026 10:39 GMTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popoveropen image in galleryIgor Tudor accepts there is an ’emergency’ at Tottenham (Will Matthews/PA)Your support helps us to tell the storyRead moreSupport NowFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.Read moreIgor Tudor has acknowledged Tottenham are in an “emergency situation” but believes the quality of the squad can steer them clear of Premier League relegation worries.Tudor faced the media for the first time on Friday and fielded questions on Spurs’ precarious league position, a hefty injury list and the daunting prospect of a managerial debut in a north London derby against Arsenal.The 47-year-old is no stranger to a crisis situation after taking over at Juventus, Lazio and Udinese in difficult moments and was defiant before his maiden Premier League match on Sunday.“Style of play comes from pre-season when you have 50 days and you have 20 players. Of course when you have the style, very concrete, but now this is an emergency,” Tudor pointed out after he declared to be “100 per cent” confident of survival.“An emergency situation when you need to find fast what suits the 10 (outfield) plus three players and it’s totally different.“You have to go day by day, week by week.“Let’s see what we can do. If you ask me what we are going to see on Sunday? Then I believe something concrete, good that the people will like, but it’s also about working, doing your best and then you will see on Sunday.”open image in galleryIgor Tudor will take charge of his first Tottenham match in Sunday’s north London derby with Arsenal (Will Matthews/PA) (PA Archive)Arsenal are favourites to win a first league title since 2004, but even if they had not been the most dominant team in the division, this would still be one of the most difficult fixtures for a new Spurs head coach to make his debut in.Yet Tudor pushed back by saying: “Is it a good time to play against Arsenal at home? It’s always a good time to play against Arsenal at home.“Good if you are not in a good moment, of course. If you are not in a good moment, of course, so let’s go.“We respect them but we play at home. Let’s see what will happen. We need to have courage, confidence. We have good players, they have good players, so let’s see what will happen.“Be humble but brave, intelligent. The right things to do to put in the pitch. We play at home, eh?”This is Tudor’s 12th different managerial role since he started out at Hajduk in 2013, but he bristled at the suggestion of sampling life in London during his time off over their next three months.The former Croatia centre-back was also quizzed on the meaning of the term ‘Spursy’ and claimed to “never heard” of the popular social-media phrase.While the task at hand is sizeable given Tottenham have won only two of their last 17 league fixtures, Tudor’s belief was unwavering.“I come here not to visit the city, I have come here to make a job at a very difficult moment for this club,” Tudor insisted.“What I saw this week is the quality of the player, we have enormous quality in the players even though some of them are not with us, but they will come back.“On Sunday we will have 13 good players. It’s about that.”More aboutPremier LeagueTottenham HotspurJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesCommentsMost popularPopular videosBulletinRead next