100% GUARANTEED: IGOR TUDOR VOWS TOTTENHAM WILL NOT BE RELEGATED FROM THE PREMIER LEAGUE
Igor Tudor is "100% sure" Spurs will stay up! Discover his plan for the North London Derby despite a massive injury crisis.
Igor Tudor isn’t worried about Tottenham dropping out of the Premier League. He’s sure the club will stay up – no doubts at all.
Tudor just took over as Spurs’ interim head coach last Saturday, after the team let go of Thomas Frank. Frank only managed two wins in 17 league games, so they were in a rough spot. Now, Tudor steps in with Tottenham sitting in 16th place, just five points clear of the drop zone. And to make things more intense, his first big test is the north London derby against top-of-the-table Arsenal. Still, Tudor doesn’t flinch. He’s confident he’ll get the job done in N17.
When someone asked just how sure he was that Spurs would stay in the Premier League, Tudor didn’t hesitate: “One hundred per cent.”
He’s not in London for a good time. “I’m not here to enjoy it; I’m here to work. Sure, you enjoy the first moment, but then you get down to business,” he said. “This is a fantastic club, and I’m really focused on doing the right things.”
Tudor’s been in these kinds of situations before. Last season, he helped Juventus clinch a Champions League spot after stepping in to steady the ship. Same story at Lazio a couple of years back: he came in with nine games left, won five, and took them from ninth to seventh.
But when people press him for his secret, he just shrugs. “I don’t know. I just do my job. Nothing special. I focus on what matters. You need to solve problems; every club has them, even the big ones.”
He’s brought in some familiar faces to help out at Spurs: Bruno Saltor, who used to coach at Brighton, joins Riccardo Ragnacci and Tomislav Rogic on Tudor’s staff. Andreas Georgson stays on as the set-piece coach.
The real challenge? The squad is battered. At least 11 players are out with injuries or suspensions, which leaves Tudor with a thin group to pick from.
“This is a really rare situation – ten players injured, and not just small knocks either,” he said. “We trained with thirteen outfield players. That’s just how it is. It’s not ideal, but honestly, it makes the challenge even bigger. We’ll have thirteen for sure, and that’s enough to get what we want on Sunday.”
He knows what this derby means. “The first goal – obviously, I get how important this game is. It’s the north London derby. Everyone expects three points from us, and we know that. But for me, these first sessions have been about becoming a team. A team that knows how to go to war together, a team that’s willing to suffer, to fight, to run, with the right mentality. That’s where it starts.”
Despite the rough patch Spurs have been through, Tudor thinks there’s enough quality in the squad to turn things around. “This team’s got plenty of quality,” he said. “Talented players, good engines, I always say, legs that can run. There’s a lot of potential here.”
Cristian Romero is suspended for now, but Tudor confirmed he’ll stay as team captain. He didn’t say who’ll wear the armband on Sunday, though.
Tudor’s been talking a lot with the club’s leadership group about what he expects from them. “You have to talk about values, but also about real things on the pitch – what you want out there. The players need clarity, and they want it too. My goal’s been to send two messages: one about what kind of people and values we want, and one about how we want to play. Both things have to work together.
SUNDERLAND CONDEMNS "VILE" RACIST ABUSE AIMED AT BRIAN BROBBEY AFTER SPURS WIN
Brian Brobbey targeted online! Sunderland and the Premier League unite against "vile" discrimination after Spurs win.
Sunderland called out the racist abuse aimed at Brian Brobbey on social media and made it clear they stand fully behind him.
Brobbey was targeted online right after Sunderland’s 1-0 win over Tottenham in the Premier League on Sunday. On Monday, the club released a statement: “Sunderland condemns in the strongest possible terms the racist abuse directed at Brian Brobbey on social media following Sunday’s fixture against Tottenham. We stand firmly with Brian and offer him our full and unwavering support.”
Sadly, this isn’t the first time Sunderland players have had to deal with this kind of abuse this season. After February’s match against Fulham, Romaine Mundle received hateful messages online, and last month the Tyne-Wear derby had to be paused when someone in the crowd reportedly aimed abuse at Lutsharel Geertruida.
The club’s statement continued: “This isn’t an isolated event. The recent abuse aimed at Romaine Mundle and Lutsharel Geertruida shows just how often and how unacceptably this keeps happening, both at matches and on the internet. We’ve reported this latest incident to the Premier League, the social media platforms, and the police, and we expect them to act quickly against the people responsible. Racism is vile, and it doesn’t belong in football or anywhere else. We’ll keep calling it out, clearly and without hesitation, every time it happens. Football should be safe and welcoming for everyone, no exceptions.”
The Premier League is backing Brobbey as well. In a post on their X account, they said they’re “disgusted by the ongoing discrimination” players keep facing online. “We stand alongside Sunderland in strongly condemning the online racist abuse Brian Brobbey has received and have offered our full support to him and the club. We are disgusted by the ongoing discrimination players are facing on social media and are committed to working with clubs, authorities, law enforcement, and social media companies to address this issue, as well as supporting investigations to bring those responsible to justice.
Anyone found guilty of discrimination will face the toughest possible punishments: jail time, football bans, and even a criminal record.”
DAVID MOYES REVEALS "NERVES" AS EVERTON HUNT HISTORIC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUALIFICATION SPOT
David Moyes admits Everton's Champions League hunt is nerve-wracking. See the latest on the Toffees' battle for Europe.
David Moyes admits the idea of Everton making the Champions League this soon in their rebuild actually makes him “shake a wee bit.”
You look at the club now, and it's hard to believe where they were just 14 months ago. When Moyes returned, Everton looked beaten down from years of fighting to stay up. Suddenly, with only seven games left, they’re sitting eighth. That spot could mean Europa Conference League football, but after their win against Chelsea before the break, they’re now just three points off fourth. It’s wild to even talk about the Champions League, but it’s right there in reach.
Reporters put the question to him how does it feel to be this close? With Europe’s spots possibly extending down to fifth (or maybe even further, depending on how other English clubs do), Moyes wasn’t hiding his nerves: “It’s probably the best shot we’ve had in a long time. But when I hear ‘Champions League’? Makes me shake a wee bit, honestly. I’ve been lucky to manage in Europe’s other competitions lately, and if we do make it, I’m sure we’d be able to hold our own at certain stages. Still, the Champions League is just on another level.”
Everton’s next match at Brentford looks huge for their European dreams. Brentford beat them earlier in the season, and right now, both teams are level, separated only by goal difference.
Moyes is clearly enjoying this chapter. “Listen, Europe’s Europe. If someone had said at the start, ‘You’re going to get European football,’ we’d have snapped their hand off. It could be the tiddlywinks European cup, and we’d be up for it. Evertonians want the club back in those conversations. We’re getting attention for the new stadium, we’ve got a couple of England internationals getting noticed more, it’s a good time. If we do sneak into the Champions League, it’d be an unbelievable achievement. But honestly, no matter which competition we make, it’s still a big step forward for us.”
