´I won´t say everything is perfect´ – Tudor stands by criticism of Spurs players

Igor Tudor has made no apologies for showing his Tottenham players some tough love early on in his reign, as they continue to seek their first points under the Croatian.

Ahead of hosting Crystal Palace on Thursday, Spurs sit just one point above the Premier League’s relegation zone following West Ham’s win over Fulham and Nottingham Forest’s draw against Manchester City.

They have not won any of their last 10 Premier League matches (four draws, six defeats), only the second time they have endured a winless streak of that length in the competition, having previously done so between January and March 1994 under Ossie Ardiles.

Tudor has only been at the helm for their last two games since succeeding Thomas Frank, becoming only the second Spurs manager to lose his first two Premier League matches in charge, after Martin Jol lost his first three in 2004.

The former Juventus boss has not held back in his assessment of Tottenham’s players, saying the club have “big problems” following Sunday’s 2-1 defeat at Fulham.

One week earlier, after a 4-1 loss to North London rivals Arsenal in his first game in charge, Tudor said Spurs must “become serious” and shed their “bad habits”.

He stood by those comments at his pre-match press conference on Wednesday, saying: “Of course it was a little bit disappointing, but that’s how we should feel. We need to be angry and disappointed.

“I won’t be the guy who says everything is perfect, smiles and acts like nothing has happened.

“Also, it’s about me personally sending a message to everyone that I do not accept the situation – but we move on.

“We had a good but short period to prepare for this next game, and I have seen the guys react really well.”

“It’s all about three points.”

All the latest news from Igor Tudor’s pre-Crystal Palace press conference

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Spurs were criticised for their stale attacking play during Frank’s short-lived reign, and Tudor said in his introductory press conference that he favoured a dynamic, positive style.

But with Tottenham’s relegation fears deepening since then, Tudor says style is not a concern right now.

“It’s all about three points. I said that before the last game. When you are in this moment, it’s all about three points,” Tudor said.

“When you start the season and you choose the players, you choose the style you play, you have two months to work on that totally different moment, then you can think about how good you can be.

“For the last 10 games, it’s a totally different state of mind.”

According to the Opta supercomputer, Spurs have just an 8.2% chance of going down.