Igor Tudor banished five players from training as dressing room turned sour

The Croatian has endured a torrid time since taking over as Spurs manager, but he's no stranger to discord amongst a squad

Tottenham Hotspur boss Igor Tudor faced disarray and player unrest at former club Marseille that left five players banished from training.

Spurs' season hit a dramatic new low on Thursday night when they were beaten 3-1 by Crystal Palace at home, leaving them teetering on the edge of the relegation places. Tudor has failed to alleviate any of the pressure in north London after Spurs parted ways with Thomas Frank in February following a run of poor results.

The Croatian has lost all three of his matches in charge so far and his torrid experience somewhat echoes the doomed spell he endured in France between 2022 and 2023. Despite leading Marseille to third in Ligue 1, Tudor, 47, left the club 12 months after joining them, citing "tiredness."

His time at the Velodrome was marked by discord and infighting. It was perhaps destined to end in tears. The Marseille squad were thought to be fond of former boss Jorge Sampaoli, who left due to the club's transfer policy.

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Upon arriving in France, there was every indication that the squad were immediately unhappy with Tudor's appointment, with palpable tension rumoured between the coach and his players amid an intense pre-season.

What followed was nothing short of full-blown chaos. Brazilian midfielder Gerson was thought to have had a heated exchange with Tudor and was removed from training.

French full-back Jordan Amavi was then dropped from the first team squad entirely after an argument with Tudor on the same day. Turkish winger Cengiz Under also disagreed with his head coach, but wasn't believed to have been given his marching orders from the sessions.

Former Arsenal defender Nuno Tavares was also given the boot from a training session. Senegal striker Bamba Dieng was reportedly axed too, but the reasons for that are unclear.

Another ex-Gunner, Matteo Guendouzi, clashed with Tudor and also felt his manager's wrath. Guendouzi allegedly had a "lively altercation" with Tudor during the team's 2-0 pre-season defeat to AC Milan. It resulted in the Frenchman heading off the pitch for a shower, packing his belongings and not coming out for the second half.

Speaking on his penchant for discipline, Tudor said: “In my football, there is a feature, you have to run. And if you don’t… If I see one player that doesn’t run in training, I’ll say it once, twice and then on the third time of asking, I’ll intervene."

Discussing a player, who was later revealed to be Tavares, Tudor claimed the international was not making “necessary efforts" as the reason for ostracising the current Lazio star.

Tudor's rocky tenure also took a surreal turn after former Italian international, Mauro Camoranesi, lasted just a week as assistant coach, despite Tudor introducing him to his players as his “right arm."

After Tudor departed for Lazio, where he lasted three months, Marseille president Pablo Longaria told Calciomercato: “I wouldn’t wish what Igor suffered on my worst enemy.

“He found himself at a club where everyone was against him, from the inside and outside. Many people organised themselves to increase the tension against him. People were asking for Jorge Sampaoli to return, while others wanted to give power to the players.

“There were requests to fan groups to oust the coach. When I returned to Marseille, I felt that pre-season was like the 37th matchday of the championship, you had to play your life. It’s not normal.”

Following the defeat to Palace, Tudor's comments suggested he is ready to act on those Spurs players who don't quickly acquiesce to his methods, harking back to his strict regime in France. "I will tell you now, maybe it will sound strange, but I believe more after this game than I believed before," said Tudor.

"I saw something. I need to choose the right guys because the boat is going in the direction that I want to go, and needs to go, and who is in the boat can stay. Otherwise they can leave the boat."

It doesn't get any easier for Spurs next week. They travel first to Atletico Madrid for the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie, and then head to Liverpool in the league.