AliousIgor Tudor insisted he feels even more confident that Tottenham Hotspur will avoid relegation, despite a damaging 3–1 home defeat to Crystal Palace that increased pressure on the interim manager.
The situation worsened for Spurs after West Ham United beat Fulham on Wednesday, beginning a miserable 24 hours for the north London side. Tottenham’s fifth consecutive defeat leaves them just one point above the Premier League relegation zone with nine games remaining.
Things initially looked promising when Dominic Solanke gave Tottenham the lead in the 34th minute. However, the match quickly turned after stand-in captain Micky van de Ven was sent off only four minutes later. Palace took full advantage, scoring three times before half-time.
Many Spurs supporters left the stadium at the break, and although Tudor’s injury-hit side showed more determination in the second half, the defeat extended Tottenham’s winless run to 11 matches, the club’s worst streak in Premier League history.
Tudor, appointed last month to improve results, has instead become the first Tottenham manager in the Premier League era to lose his opening three games. Despite this, he refused to speculate about his job security.
“I’m not thinking about that,” Tudor said. “My focus is just on doing my job.
“I understand the fans. Their reaction is normal because they expected more. We wanted to give more too, but the red card changed everything.
“It may sound strange, but after this match I actually believe more than before because I saw something in the team.”
Tudor added that he must select the right players to steer the club forward.
“The boat is moving in the direction I want it to go. The players who are in that boat can stay, but those who are not ready must step aside. When our injured players return and we choose the right group, I’m sure the wins will come again. It’s difficult to accept our current situation, but that’s the reality.”
For Palace, meanwhile, it was a far more positive evening. The visitors moved 10 points clear of the bottom three, thanks to a brace from Ismaila Sarr and a superb strike by Jørgen Strand Larsen.
Sarr even had a goal ruled out in the 29th minute for a marginal offside decision confirmed by VAR.
Palace manager Oliver Glasner joked: “We started really well and thought we were already 1–0 up, but the goal was ruled out. I told Ismaila afterwards that his nose was too long!
“Then two minutes later we defended a set-piece poorly and suddenly we were behind, but I loved the team’s reaction.
“The crowd became loud and it seemed to give Tottenham belief, but we responded immediately. We won the penalty, they had a red card, and then we scored two fantastic goals before half-time. Overall it was a great performance.”
Alious
