{"id":466997,"date":"2026-03-10T02:13:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T02:13:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/466997\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T02:13:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T02:13:08","slug":"relegation-fight-is-priority-for-spurs-not-champions-league-says-igor-tudor-tottenham-hotspur","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/466997\/","title":{"rendered":"Relegation fight is priority for Spurs, not Champions League, says Igor Tudor | Tottenham Hotspur"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tottenham\u2019s interim head coach, Igor Tudor, called tonight\u2019s \u00adChampions League last-16 first leg at \u00adAtl\u00e9tico Madrid a \u201cbeautiful game\u201d, but admitted it was not the priority as they battle against relegation from the \u00adPremier\u00a0League<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Spurs finished fourth in the league phase, earning them direct qualification for the last 16 and a return to the stadium where they played in the final less than seven years ago. But a run of 11 matches without a win has left them one point above the Premier League relegation zone and Tudor under pressure just three weeks after taking over. He admitted: \u201cOur first aim is the Premier League, this needs to be said publicly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tudor added: \u201cThat doesn\u2019t mean that we don\u2019t want to go an extra round,\u201d although that desire may be tested amid injuries and he talked about this tie as an opportunity to \u201cgrow\u201d and test new solutions for the fight against relegation.<\/p>\n

Some relief comes with the return of Djed Spence, Radu Dragusin and Cristian Romero.<\/p>\n

The full-back Pedro Porro, meanwhile, has insisted that his furious reaction after being substituted against Crystal Palace on Thursday night was \u201cnot about the coach\u201d, with whom he said Spurs are \u201con the right path\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course they are important, as I said always,\u201d Tudor said of Champions League<\/a> games. \u201cWe focus on us grow[ing], so it can be an opportunity: it\u2019s a totally different mentality in these kinds of games and maybe that can help us. I believe that this kind of game can help us to switch to the right way but always the focus is on us doing better: that is the point.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked if this was a \u201cfree hit\u201d or a trial run for changes that could be applied in the Premier League, Tudor replied: \u201cIt will be both things: focus on us, playing a team that has a story in this Champions League. They have experience and quality. We need to do our best in terms of the need to grow. Our first aim is the Premier League, this needs to be said publicly. It\u2019s a normal thing; this is something extra.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pedro Porro said his angry reaction after being substituted against Crystal Palace was not against Igor Tudor. Photograph: Andrew Couldridge\/Action Images\/Reuters<\/p>\n

Tudor continued: \u201cI never say the first XI. But the players, we are happy that Romero is back, Djed is back. This is the first time [since] I am here that we will have all the players available for the defensive side.\u201d He also confirmed that Richarlison would start but did not confirm his position, saying: \u201cI have said too much already.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tudor added of Romero: \u201cHe missed a lot and he was not feeling good that he could not help the team, but now he is back. He was working two, three weeks a lot, with fitness coaches. He did separate running sessions and we are happy he is back. We have missed players who usually play. The more time is passing, the sessions are better, there is more quality \u2013 especially as important players are coming back to the team. It is not easy to change things you are doing for a month or a year [but] something is moving. Let\u2019s see tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked about his reaction to being replaced against Palace, Porro insisted: \u201cI want to say it was not about the coach. I am a player who wants to win always. I always give 200% and you never like it when you lose. Let\u2019s get rid of the speculation that is out there that is about the coach and the situation we are in: it was because I want to win. Since he [Tudor] came I knew he would get us 100% on the right path. He came two, three weeks ago and he has to [get to] know us and we have to get to know him and I am sure we are on the right path.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tottenham\u2019s interim head coach, Igor Tudor, called tonight\u2019s \u00adChampions League last-16 first leg at \u00adAtl\u00e9tico Madrid a \u201cbeautiful…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":466998,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[49,50,51,47,52,48],"class_list":["post-466997","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/466997","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=466997"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/466997\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/466998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=466997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=466997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=466997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}