Tudor believes Tottenham are a world apart from rivals Arsenal after derby defeat | OneFootball

New Tottenham manager Igor Tudor admitted his side and rivals Arsenal were worlds apart following their 4-1 derby drubbing at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, in his first match in charge.

Renowned for quickly turning teams’ fortunes around, Tudor’s tenure at Spurs began not with a new manager bounce, but a stark reminder of the distance between his new club and the Premier League leaders.

A 1-4 defeat to Arsenal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium has officially left Spurs facing an unthinkable relegation battle, leaving the new manager picking up the pieces of a fractured squad.

After the final whistle, Tudor addressed the media with a level of candour rarely seen in a debut press conference.

He said: “I need to be honest. Today, we saw two totally different worlds. Psychological and physical worlds, levels.

“It was not a perfect team to play the first game after three of four sessions, but in one way we need to see something good to see where we need to be. You know, where is the goal? What is the level?”

Tudor likely referred to the sheer ease with which Arsenal bypassed the hosts’ low block, despite managing to neutralise Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard in spurts during the first half.

Yet physical drop off after the interval allowed Viktor Gyökeres to dominate the final third.

Spurs entered the game looking for the so-called new manager bounce, but Tudor was quick to highlight that he was operating with a skeleton of a squad, with 13 players unavailable.

The 47-year-old said: “You never know [if the job is bigger than I thought] because this is a situation that I never saw.

“That we have 10 players plus three players… so it’s very, I don’t know which word is best to use. Now we need to restart again and waiting for the players who are out. For sure, that’s also a big reason. But it is how it is.”

The lack of depth was exposed in the 61st minute when Joao Palhinha’s accidental deflection fell to Eberechi Eze. Tudor noted while there was “passion” present, the physical capacity to maintain the high intensity press was not there.

He said: “We need more time to be in a physical moment and physical situation that we can go strong and take the ball. Now we are not in that moment.

“Even with the ball, a lack of confidence is very evident in the team. So we wanted and prepared to do the things but there is an opponent, there is a reality today.”

He said: “I’m very sad and very angry and everything, but in one way it is also good to understand where is our goal. To become serious.

“Serious, not just a group of 20 players, and the medicine is you look in the mirror. Each of us look in the mirror and really try, really start to change the habits. Working hard is the only way.”

Tudor then went on to conclude by emphasising that despite the demoralising nature of the result, the mission remains focussed on collective humility rather than individual talent.

“Stay humble, that is the key”, he said.

“Stay humble that is the key of each of us and trying to become a team, a hard-working team. That is the only goal we have now in this moment.”