Tottenham must have realistic Igor Tudor expectations amid huge North London Derby pressure

Igor Tudor makes his managerial debut for Tottenham Hotspur in Sunday's North London Derby, but Spurs fans have been warned about they shouldn't expect too much from the temporary successor to Thomas Frank

Stephen Carr has told Tottenham Hotspur fans not to expect too much from Igor Tudor over the next couple of months.

The former Juventus manager has stepped in as interim head coach of Spurs until the end of the season following the sacking of Thomas Frank earlier this month. Tudor makes his way to north London with the club in a sad state of affairs, sitting 16th in the Premier League table just five points clear of the relegation zone.

And while club legend Carr doesn't feel as though the Lilywhites are in any danger of demotion to the Championship at present, he has also warned fans not to expect anything exciting from Tudor across the last 12 games of the season. Speaking exclusively to football.london via William Hill, Carr said: "He seems to be quite a tough manager and they probably need that at this moment in time.

"It needs freshness, obviously. They're in a poor position in the league, obviously they've done really, really well in the Champions League, which is strange with the elite of clubs in European football - they've held their own a bit. You can say the group was not bad, it’s a favoured group...

"It needs something and it needs a kick. I think they need a proper, hard manager who's going to get them going. Hopefully, they do. I don't believe Spurs are in trouble of going down, but when you don't get results, the pressure comes on. The fans get disgruntled; that stadium is going to be not a nice stadium.

"Players will come into that stadium thinking they're going to turn on them. Then the pressure comes in. Do people disappear? Do people hide away? In general, yeah. You'll always have a few players. If you're one man down, that's it. You're done.

“Hopefully, he can turn it around and get them going again. As you say, it's not as if his record is that he's had massive success and he's stayed for years. I think for Tottenham, it's more of just get us out of this to the end of the season and be safe.

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"They weren't great in the league last year either, then they win something in Europe. It was a bit of strange one. It needs sorted because it can't continue like that. They can't be in them positions, a club that size. Hopefully, he does change it."

While Frank struggled to inspire competitive performances in the league ahead of his dismissal, he managed to hold his own in the Champions League, leading Spurs to five wins, two draws and just a single loss in the league phase. However, Carr also believes that Tudor should invest all of his energy into the English top flight instead of chasing glory in Europe.

He added: "The fans want them to keep going to the Champions League. What's the most important thing? The Premier League. Are they good enough to win the Champions League? No, they're not. The teams in the Champions League…That's not being disrespectful to the squad at Tottenham.

“But if you look at the teams in the Champions League, they're not at that level. For me, the most important thing is stability. Getting the club back up that table. Ange [Postecoglou] done it last year and won the European Cup, brilliant, and he finished where they finished, 16th or something in the league.

"And that's what got him the sack, which is crazy. So, it is mad. They're not going to win the Champions League. So, it's not as if he bowed to it. But the most important thing for that manager is he gets them up to the table and start getting results in the league, because that's your bread and butter.

"They're not good enough to win the Champions League. Not with the teams in it. No way. They haven't got the squad for it. They haven't got the depth. As I say, with the injuries as well, it's a very difficult jiggle between the Champions League. You want to keep going. It's worth a lot of money to the club as well.

“Players want to win. They want to keep going as far as they can in it. But the most important thing is that Premier League. The Premier League is the status they need to be in. As I say, I don't believe they'll get relegated, but it can make it very nervy. Very nervy."

Up first for Tudor is Arsenal at home in the Premier League on Sunday, February 22. The pressure for instant success will undoubtedly be on the interim head coach despite their north London rivals sitting top of the league table, given Tudor only has a matter of months to make a difference with the club.

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