Wed, March 4, 2026 at 3:23 PM UTC
Tottenham boss Igor Tudor has been speaking to the media before Thursday’s Premier League game against Crystal Palace at Tottenham Hotspur stadium (kick-off 20:00 GMT).
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
Tudor confirmed Djed Spence will not be available to face Palace, but is hopeful he will be back for the Champions League last-16 match away to Atletico Madrid.
He also confirmed there were no new updates on Destiny Udogie and Dejan Kulusevski, adding: “Kevin [Danso] returned in the last game so it has been great to have him back, but there is no other news.”
On feelings after defeat by Fulham at the weekend: “Of course it was a little bit disappointing, but that’s how we should feel [after a game like that]. 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.”
He continued: “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.”
The Spurs boss knows there are “a lot of things to improve” but he is seeing “day-by-day the players want this” and this makes him “feel positive enough to believe that we will do it”.
On how he is getting the players mentally ready for the challenge of retaining their Premier League status: “We need to have belief that we have enough quality to do it. My point is to give both things to the players, this is how my job works in this sport. I’m trying to touch the players in all kinds of ways. I’ve seen a good willingness to change. We need something to change and I have seen small progress.”
Despite the difficult situation they are in, Tudor doesn’t believe there is a “must-win game” as they “need to be approaching all of the games in the right way”. He added: “They are nice things to speak about on the TV or in a bar, but we aren’t interested in thinking in this way.”
Tudor also provided an update on bringing assistant Ivan Javorcic to the club: “It’s an ongoing thing now, we’ll wait. It’s just a work permit issue. We are waiting.”
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