Igor Tudor leaves role as Tottenham’s interim manager just 44 DAYS after being appointed after disastrous Nottingham Forest defeat worsened their relegation fears
Igor Tudor’s time at Tottenham is over after just 44 days and the search for a fourth head coach in the last 12 months is under way.
Interim assistant Bruno Saltor will take care of training in the days ahead and Spurs, having confirmed Tudor’s exit on Sunday intend to have a new boss in place by the time the full squad returns from international duty later this week.
Tudor was appointed as interim head coach on Valentine’s Day to replace Thomas Frank who was sacked three days earlier, but Spurs have taken only one point from his five Premier League games in charge and crashed out of the Champions League.
They scored nine goals in those seven games and conceded 20.
His short tenure started badly with a 4-1 home defeat against Arsenal after which Tudor confessed the problems were far worse than he had anticipated, because of the injury pile-up and its impact on physical condition and morale.
Then came a poor performance in a defeat at Fulham and a first-half shambles in what was a key home fixture against Crystal Palace.
Igor Tudor has left his role as Tottenham’s interim boss after a woeful 3-0 loss to Nottingham Forest
Spurs are in a relegation battle and could suffer a top-flight drop for the first time since 1977
Spurs took the lead through Dominic Solanke in the 34th minute only to collapse when vice captain Micky van de Ven was sent off four minutes later for a foul that conceded a penalty.
Palace equalised from the spot and quickly scored two more before half time as 10-man Spurs hit the self-destruct button, something which has become a worrying trend during this high-stress period of the season.
Something similar happened in the opening 15 minutes of the first leg of the Champions League tie against Atletico Madrid.
Tudor selected Antonin Kinsky in goal to give Guglielmo Vicario a break but Kinsky made two costly slips in the opening 15 minutes and was substituted with Spurs 3-0 down.
Spurs went 4-0 down before they rallied and lost 5-2, a deficit too big to turn around despite victory in the second leg.
That will go down Tudor’s only win and it is ironic that it was inspired by two Xavi Simons goals.
Simons has been the only creative spark since the turn of the year but was used sparingly by Tudor after contributing little from a position wide on the left in a 4-4-2 formation at Fulham.
The Atletico dead-rubber win together with a late equaliser in the previous game, a 1-1 draw at Liverpool, offered some hope but it vanished against Nottingham Forest.
The Croatian presided over four consecutive league defeats at the start of his brief tenure, picking up one draw
Like the Palace game, the Forest showdown was billed as must-win in the survival fight. As against Palace, there was a big build up and Spurs flickered with promise but ultimately went under and conceded another three goals at home.
They have been far too easy to score against and Tudor, like Frank and other predecessors, has been unable to strike the perfect balance between protecting one goal while threatening the other with this group of players.
The problems at Spurs run deeper than the head coach, nevertheless the Forest defeat would prove the final act of the short Tudor era in N17.
It ended with profound personal sadness as the 47-year-old Croatian was informed of the death of his father Mario straight after the final whistle at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
There was great sympathy from all connected with the club as he left London but his spell in charge has been short and sour and will be remembered with no great fondness.
Players railed against Tudor’s surly brand of passive aggression, which spilled into his media duties where he had a habit of tutting disapprovingly at questions he didn’t like and glaring at inquisitors.
Fans, like everyone else, have been bemused by wild deviations in his tactical plans from a back three to a back four, with one, two or three up front, players out of position and expensive signings such as Simons and Conor Gallagher regularly cast aside.
His trusted assistant Ivan Javorcic ran into work permit complications and was unable to join him at Spurs.
Tudor was informed immediately after his side’s defeat by Nottingham Forest that his father had passed away
Maybe the last six weeks would have been different with Javorcic at his side but as it turned out there was nothing Tudor could do to arrest the slide in the short time available.
Spurs remain deep in a rut of relegation form. They have not won any of their last 13 Premier League games, taking only five points from 39 available in 2026. They sit on 30 points, with bitter rivals West Ham are 18th on 29 points – with both teams having seven games left.
Their first game back is a trip to Sunderland (April 12) before ending the month with a home match against Brighton (April 18) and then travelling to Wolves (April 25).
Their May begins with a trip to Champions League chasing Aston Villa (May 2) before a home encounter with Leeds (May 9). They then make the short trip across to west London to face bitter rivals Chelsea (May 17) before ending the season at home to Everton (May 24).
With seven games to play, the only priority is to stay up. An escape they will attempt without Tudor.
If Tottenham were to get relegated it would be the first time they have dropped down from the top flight since 1977.
Goalkeeping coach Tomislav Rogic and fitness coach Riccardo Ragnacci leave with him. The end of an error, some might say.
