Tottenham drop Igor Tudor sack decision hint with plan for Liverpool clash

After Tottenham Hotspur's horror show against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League, the north Londoners appear to have made a decision regarding sacking Igor Tudor

Beleaguered Tottenham Hotspur interim manager Igor Tudor has seemingly been given a stay of execution. Spurs have confirmed he will take questions from the media at a press conference on Friday, previewing their ominous away trip to Liverpool.

Tudor, 47, fell to a new low when he watched his side be destroyed 5-2 in the first-leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie against Atletico Madrid. His huge decision to drop goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario and deploy 22-year-old Antonin Kinsky backfired spectacularly within 15 minutes, as the young shot-stopper was at fault for two of Atletico's three early goals, before he was humiliatingly substituted.

Few argued with the decision to haul the Czech off, but Tudor's lack of acknowledgement to the devastated Kinsky left former Spurs goalkeeper Joe Hart furious. With Tudor enduring the worst start of any Tottenham manager in history, many have tipped the Croatian to be axed before the journey to Anfield.

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His job appears to be safe, for now, as Tudor's presence at his press conference on Friday was confirmed by the club. This news all but guarantees Tudor will be in the dugout on the red side of Merseyside.

Having lost all four of his matches so far, Tudor's position will surely be questioned if the north Londoners suffer a convincing defeat at Liverpool. Tottenham are living dangerously in the Premier League as they are only one point above 18th placed West Ham United.

The Hammers host Manchester City on the weekend, and 17th placed Nottingham Forest face Fulham at the City Ground. Should both the Hammers and Forest win, and Tottenham lose, Tudor's side will drop into the relegation zone.

There are also increasing signs he is losing the support of the Tottenham players. football.london understands many of the Spurs stars feel he has over-asserted himself and come across as disrespectful since his appointment.

There was a key moment at the Wanda Metropolitano after he chose to end Kinsky's evening after barely 15 minutes. As the goalkeeper left the pitch, Tudor did not even acknowledge him, but Conor Gallagher, Joao Palhinha and Dominic Solanke, who started the match on the bench, chased him down the tunnel, realising the potentially seismic effect his nightmare cameo may have.

The fact Tudor did not offer a word of encouragement on the pitch did not go unnoticed among the Spurs players. In his post-match interview, he also appeared reluctant to talk about Kinsky, although he did offer a small showing of support to the keeper in his press conference.

Tudor said: "Unfortunately, it happened in this big game, these mistakes. He was sorry. The team is with him, me too. I was speaking with him. He understands the moment, he understands why he goes out. As I said, he’s a very good goalkeeper.

"We are with him, we are all together. It’s never about one player. It’s happened. It’s the Champions League again. We paid [for] this start of the game."