Igor Tudor’s response as Spurs boss asked if he will be sacked after Palace loss | Football | Sport

Igor Tudor refused to answer questions about his future as Tottenham manager – having only overseen three matches so far in his 20 days at the helm – after the 3-1 loss to Crystal Palace. Spurs’ defeat in the Premier League on Thursday evening means they have lost all of their last five in the league and have not won any of their top-flight outings in 2026. They are 11 without victory having lost all of their three under Tudor by a combined scoreline of 9-3.

Spurs appeared to have found their rhythm in the 34th minute when Archie Gray split two defenders and delivered a low cross that Dominic Solanke hammered into the net from short range. However, four minutes later, everything unravelled. Stand-in captain Micky van de Ven hauled down Ismaila Sarr as he burst into the box. That handed Palace a spot-kick which Sarr calmly converted and saw the Dutch centre-back sent off.

Things deteriorated further in first-half stoppage time when Jorgen Strand Larsen latched onto Adam Wharton’s pass and slotted the ball through Gugliemo Vicario’s legs. Wharton then tore Spurs apart once more with a ball over the top that Sarr reached before Vicario and tucked away. Spurs were unable to claw their way back into the match and now sit only one point above the relegation zone.

Tudor’s disastrous interim stint so far has sparked suggestions the Croatian could be dismissed already. West Ham and Nottingham Forest are perilously close to Spurs, who travel to Anfield next up. They have not won away at Liverpool since May 2011, losing 10 of 14 trips there since. Below is Tudor’s post-Palace press conference in full…

That game did not turn out how you would have wanted?

Yeah, we are disappointed to lose the game. Even though we started good and we had 1-0 and then the red card changed the game. It was a totally different game after. Unfortunately we wanted in the second half to push it but we didn’t make it.

Lots of fans were leaving at half-time, what did you make of that?

Of course I understand the fans. It’s a normal thing that happens in football. They are disappointed. They wanted more. We are aware of that. We also wanted to give more. Unfortunately this is the moment that we pay everything. One red card change everything

I will tell you now maybe it will sound strange but I believe more after this game than I believed before. I saw something. I need to choose the right guys because the boat is going in the direction that I want to go and needs to go and who is in the boat can stay. Otherwise they can leave the boat. So when the other players will come back and choosing the right (players) I’m sure we will have a good team and the victories will come back. It’s not easy to accept the moment where we are now but it is how it is.

Is this the impossible club to manage at the moment?

I don’t want to speak about the club. I want to be positive. I cannot tell the guys nothing in the end after this game. They gave everything. Unfortunately, we pay every detail. We pay every detail.

If we can say that red Card is a detail, there is always something to say. With all the problems we have now, missing the defenders today, missing the full-backs, these are the problems we already know. I don’t want to speak about that, but we need to stay together now.

I always repeat the same things, but it is how it is. Believing and growing. Do not make mistakes. This is the key in the end of football. Stay there, don’t make mistakes. One goal, you always score. Two goals, you can score, but it’s important to not make mistakes in football.

Unfortunately, now, in this moment, we pay everything, but in return, I believe, we change everything. Still nine games to play. Still nine games to play.

You sound like you’re determined to keep fighting, to carry on. Do you think the hierarchy will allow you to keep fighting?

I don’t think in that direction. I have my job to do and that’s all.

Will we see you in that seat again?

Will we see you in that seat again, do you think?

No comment on that question.

Did Micky van de Ven say anything to the team at half-time or after the game?

That’s a private thing in the dressing room.

It feels like Tottenham, there’s always something going on this season, whether it’s a red card, an injury, I mean, how difficult is it to be suddenly thrust in amongst this?

What do you think? How difficult? It’s very difficult. What you can do, we need to keep working. Keep working, believe. Working on everything. Try to help these guys, because I understand, you know, I see them every day, they care. They care. They want to do, they try to do, but it’s moments like that. So, what I said, stay calm, keep working and it will turn off. It will change the situation.

Is it a discipline issue?

There is no discipline issue at all. Opposite.