-myKhel Team

Igor Tudor accepts that guiding Tottenham through this season may be the toughest rescue mission of his coaching career, with Spurs sitting 16th in the Premier League and still searching for a first league win of 2026 after a heavy 4-1 defeat to Arsenal in Tudor’s opening match.

Spurs are only four points clear of 18th-placed West Ham with 11 fixtures left, and that pressure has already cost Thomas Frank the job earlier this month, leading to Tudor’s appointment as head coach until the end of the campaign, with the Croatian trying to stabilise a squad short of form and confidence.

The Opta supercomputer currently rates Tottenham’s chances of relegation at 4.6%, a relatively low figure but still a concern for a club that has not yet recorded a Premier League victory in nine attempts in 2026, drawing four and losing five, and knowing that every remaining match could influence their survival.

Tudor has built a reputation for immediate impact at clubs such as Lazio and Juventus, yet the situation at Spurs appears more demanding, and Tudor said in his pre-match media briefing before the Fulham trip on Sunday: “If I recognised the difficulties there are, probably yes [it is the biggest],” before adding, “It’s an even bigger motivation that we do it.”

In the north London derby, Tudor selects a 3-5-2 system, but recent numbers show Tottenham have won only one of their past 10 league games using three central defenders, drawing three and losing six, and Spurs are winless in their last six Premier League outings with that structure, with two draws and four defeats.

Only once before have Tottenham endured a run of 10 Premier League games without victory, a sequence that came between January and March 1994 under Osvaldo Ardiles, and Tudor is also trying to avoid becoming the first Spurs manager since Martin Jol in November 2004 to lose the opening two league matches in charge.

Tottenham focus on results as Spurs balance style with Premier League relegation fight

The current situation leaves Tudor prioritising points over aesthetics, and he explained that focus by saying: “There’s not too much time to think about performance or style,” and continued: “Every game needs to be prepared in that way: How are we going to take the points? One way or the other way. Unfortunately, it’s for me very clear. I’m not that kind of coach who doesn’t want to cure style, how we performbut in this moment, it’s not possible to think about those kind of things.”

Spurs will at least gain reinforcements for the upcoming schedule, as Tudor confirms that Pedro Porro and Kevin Danso are back in training and could feature at Craven Cottage, a timely boost for a squad that is also about to resume Champions League commitments on top of the battle to steer clear of the bottom three.

Tottenham Champions League schedule and Spurs squad depth issues in relegation fight

Tottenham qualified in the top eight of their Champions League phase, earning an automatic place in the round of 16, and the draw takes place on Friday, but the additional fixtures arrive while the squad continues to deal with injuries and a demanding workload across domestic and European fronts.

Tudor acknowledged that the Champions League schedule complicates Spurs’ relegation battle, stating: “I don’t think too much about the draw. It doesn’t change for me, nothing,” and adding: “It’s a beautiful competition to play; everyone wants to play. The problem is the lack of numbers we have in the team. There’s the problem. If you need to play every three days with 10,12, 13… Also, it’s not only about spending physical energy but also mental energy when every game for us in the league is a final. Not an ideal situation.”

{TABLE_1}

With Tottenham hovering above the relegation zone, a poor record using three at the back, and a congested programme that includes Champions League knockout ties, Tudor’s challenge centres on securing results quickly while managing limited resources, hoping returning players and small margins can keep Spurs clear of danger over the final 11 league games.