What Igor Tudor told Tottenham players after Arsenal defeat amid ‘physical’ issues

2 hours ago 22

Igor Tudor has revealed what he told his Tottenham squad after Arsenal thrashed them and discussed whether the Lilywhites have the fighters to get out of their current predicament.

Tudor got a reality check about Spurs’ current level in his first game as head coach, with the Gunners overpowering the home side in the second period after a tight first half.

Tottenham have been warned that they could be on the verge of a catastrophe, with the Lilywhites having just 11 games to save their season.

Tudor has admitted that his current Spurs challenge could be the hardest of his career, even though he has plenty of experience taking over struggling teams and galvanising them.

Igor Tudor believes Tottenham have the soldiers to fight their way out

The Croat had previously stated that he wants the team to come together and go to war on the pitch, and he has now said that the current Spurs squad has the kind of character to do just that.

Tudor revealed that he told his players that the Arsenal game was not a fair barometer to just their level at this point, and that he wants to see a response over the upcoming fixtures.

When asked whether he has enough soldiers on his side, the 47-year-old responded (via Football.London): “What do you think? I hope so. I believe, yes. After the first game, I said if you play against the best team in the world at this moment, for us, I need to be honest, it’s not a realistic game to show we are soldiers or we are not soldiers.

“That’s the truth, but they showed they can be in some parts of the game. For long periods in the game, we had problems, in defence especially. It’s not easy against them. Let’s see in the next games.”

When asked who the soldiers are in the current squad, the former Juventus boss responded with a grin: “I will tell you when the season finishes!”

Tudor admits Spurs are lagging physically

The interim Tottenham head coach confessed that the physical level of the squad is not where it needs to be, given the injuries the club have had this season and their crowded fixture list.

Tudor hinted that the team’s game plan has to be built around what his players are capable of doing right now, suggesting that we will see a slow evolution as everyone gets up to speed.

He added: “Physically, I believe, we are not in an amazing situation. They have played lots of games in the last period without lots of players available and it made the physical condition of the team drop down. So we need to use this period where we don’t play the games to put some petrol in the engine so the engine starts to work better.”

“They are fatigued. To press high, you need to be fit, but all of them, because if one person is not in the right shape, there is a problem, because someone is coming late.

“And the second thing, is that there is the other goal to protect. It is easy to run there but you need to run back, so if you run up and don’t run back it’s a problem. We will improve and do these things better over time but in this moment, it’s a big question, what we can do and what we cannot do.”