Igor Tudor offers alarming response when asked if he faces Tottenham sack as boss explains Kinsky substitution | OneFootball

Igor Tudor had no answer when asked if he was the right man to lead Tottenham Hotspur through their crisis and whether he would see the job through until the end of the season following a fourth successive loss at the helm, though sources now understand a new name is under serious discussion.

A 5-2 Champions League defeat in the first leg of their last-16 tie with Atletico Madrid means Tottenham have now lost six games in a row and makes if, officially, their worst run of form in their 143 year history. Worse yet, Tudor has also become the first manager in the club’s history to lose his first four games in charge, doing so by an aggregate scoreline of 14-5.

With the alarm bells now ringing and with pundits now demanding ENIC admits the error of their ways and sack the manager before it’s too late, the 47-year-old admitted he was unable to answer if he will still be in charge come Sunday’s trip to Anfield to face champions Liverpool.

Dropping a simple “no comment” response to the question, he was then asked about the seriousness of Tottenham’s predicament and if the job is “impossible”.

With a more measured response, he stated: “I am not taking it that way. I recognised what we are and which problems we have. In every game, something happens. It is difficult to explain.

“I see the wish of the players to do well. Then, when these things happen, in the moment we are in now, unfortunately, it is like that.”

Commenting on what needs to happen ahead of their trip to Anfield this weekend, he added: “I try to do my best. What a coach needs to do.”

Tudor was then asked to explain his actions after delivering the ultimate humiliation to goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky, who was substituted after just 17 minutes with the club 3-0 down and with the 22-year-old having dropped two major blunders.

“It is very rare. I have coached for 15 years and never done this. It was necessary to preserve the guy and to preserve the team. Incredible situation,” Tudor explained.

“Before the game, it was the right choice. Where we are with pressure on [Guglielmo] Vicario, Toni is a very good goalkeeper. After this, it is easy to say it was not the right decision.

“I was speaking with Toni after. He is a bright guy, a good goalkeeper, and unfortunately it happened in this big game, these big mistakes.

“The start of the game was too much for us. In this moment when we are fragile, when we are weak.”

Next Tottenham manager: Robbie Keane in the frame; double snub

After Spurs had lost for the third successive time under Tudor at home to Crystal Palace on Thursday of last week, TEAMtalk correspondent Graeme Bailey was informed that the club’s decision-makers were willing to give Tudor a little while longer before deciding enough is enough under his regime.

But in the wake of Tuesday’s humbling in the Spanish capital, a situation compounded by the awful way he treated the young 22-year-old keeper, it appears the writing is now on the wall and the club are open to making a change.

In the aftermath of that Wanda Metropolitano humiliation, Bailey told us: “The club’s hierarchy are now in talks, having previously decided that Tudor would get until after the Atletico second leg…but the first leg defeat has forced a rethink.

“Tottenham’s hierarchy is in regular contact with the Lewis Family, whilst Daniel Levy, still a significant shareholder in ENIC, is being kept informed and aware of the situation.

“As it stands, the club are continuing to do work, as they have been for more than a week, on options to replace Igor Tudor – the hierarchy is aware that the squad have not reacted to Tudor as they hoped.

“Robbie Keane has been spoken to, but he is also a top target for Crystal Palace and has been linked to Celtic, heading into the summer.

“Spurs are considering all options, and we understand a host of agents and intermediaries have contacted them about potential replacements. But Keane is very much a preferred option.”

Other options to come in include Sean Dyche and former Spurs midfielder Ryan Mason, who has served as caretaker manager twice before.

Elsewhere, the two men Spurs had identified as long-term options to take charge from next season appear to be slipping from their grasp…

First up, their number one choice for the role is now in danger of being whisked away to Real Madrid after he emerged as the top pick for Los Blancos president Florentino Perez.

To complete a potentially worrying double snub, another option for Spurs in the permanent manager’s role has now also made his ambitions to take charge at Manchester United instead.